In October 1994, the Donor Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) convened a meeting of economic assistance experts, media relations staff and public opinion consultants to address public knowledge and attitudes toward international development. What follows are excerpts and summaries of the polling data provided at that meeting, as well as findings from a more recent poll.
Source: Program on International Policy Attitudes
Support and Misperceptions:
"An overwhelming majority of Americans embrace the principle that the United States should give some aid to help people in foreign countries who are in genuine need. Eighty percent of those polled agreed that `the United States should be willing to share at least a small portion of its wealth with those in the world who are in great need.' This attitude spread across party lines -- 78 percent of Republicans agreed."
"A strong majority says that the United States is spending too much on foreign aid. But this attitude is based on the assumption that the U.S. is spending vastly more than it is, in fact. Asked what an `appropriate' amount would be, the median level proposed is 5 times present spending levels. ...Asked to estimate how much of the federal budget goes to foreign aid, the median estimate was 15 percent, 15 times the actual amount of 1 percent. The average was even higher -- 18 percent."
"When informed about the actual amount of spending on foreign aid, a strong majority favors either maintaining it or increasing it. Asked how they would feel if the U.S. would spend 1 percent (the amount the U.S. does spend) 18 percent said this would be `too much' -- down from the 75 percent who had originally said the U.S. is spending too much. Thirty-three percent said this would be `too little' and 46 percent said it would be about right.
"Support for spending on poor countries stems partly from a belief that the world is so interconnected that it is in the economic interest of the U.S. to promote the development of third world countries. The majority of Americans seem to feel that giving foreign aid is in the economic interest of the U.S. Sixty- three percent of respondents agreed that `the world economy is so interconnected today that, in the long run, helping third world countries to develop is in the economic interest of the U.S. Many of these countries will become our trading partners that buy our exports, so in the long run, our aid will pay off economically.' "
National Security, Vol 1. No. 1
Purpose of Foreign Policy: National Interests or Human Values?
"... a majority (54 percent) of the public said the purpose of U.S. foreign policy is to realize human values. Furthermore, this opinion is held strongly by three in ten (31 percent) Americans. Those with the greatest tendency to support a human value-oriented foreign policy are baby-boomers (35-54 years old), the younger generation (18-24 years old), those with moderate education and income, minorities, housewives, students, and singles. Internationalists take this position most often..."
Americans Favor International Involvement over Isolation
"Three main popular positions define public attitudes on foreign affairs: isolation vs. involvement; independent (unilateral) involvement; and the use or non-use of military force in pursuit of foreign policy objectives. Only one in four Americans (27 percent) are isolationists and say the U.S. should `avoid becoming involved with other nations as much as possible.' This proportion is lower than in the mid-1980s when three in 10 Americans consistently took this position.
"The remainder (70 percent) indicate that the U.S. should either "modify its national security interests to take into consideration the interests of other nations (53 percent -- a multilateral or cooperative stance) or "pursue its national security interests regardless of the interests of other nations," (17 percent -- a unilateral position)."
Public Believes Government Spends as much on Foreign Aid as on Social Security and Health Care By Humphrey Taylor, President and CEO of Louis Harris and Associates
"The public believes 20 percent of government spending goes to foreign aid, a figure 20 times higher than the actual amount."
"... most people believe there is lots of waste and inefficiency in government that could be slashed without cutting services. The great majority believes more than 20 percent of spending is waste that could be cut painlessly... is should be remembered that what the public believes to be true is real in its consequences -- in this case fueling public support for cutting foreign aid. It has often been noted that foreign aid has no political constituency. However, if the public was better informed as to how little is spent on foreign aid, hostility to such spending would certainly diminish."
Highlights from a Review of Existing Survey Data Regarding American Views on U.S. Leadership and Foreign Assistance
Summary Findings
"...Americans see the interests of the regions of the world as connected, particularly in the areas of economics, population, and environment... For example... Americans believe that improving the economies of other nations would have a positive effect on the U.S. economy. They also see a growing world population as impacting the global environment and their own lives negatively..."
"...However, moving from a recognition that we are interdependent to a commitment to working to improve conditions elsewhere is another story... At present, there is no clear mandate against foreign assistance from the American public, with support continuing to outweigh opposition since 1986 when a majority (54 percent) approved of our involvement in economic assistance."
"...Even though Americans are uncertain or divided on the question of foreign aid in general, they do agree there are some compelling needs and/or reasons that may justify their support. The top reasons are humanitarian, and then environmental and economic rationales. In recent years, these have replaced Cold War security concerns as the top reasons to provide aid... In addition, Americans possess a sense of responsibility to help developing nations."
"... Disaster relief and feeding the hungry and poor are the most widely supported kinds of assistance... Americans also support assistance that: protects the environment; helps prevent the spread of AIDS; deals with drug trafficking; and, provides family planning and birth control..."
Detailed Findings
"...Americans see the interests of the countries of the world as connected, particularly in the areas of economics, population, and environment. Americans feel the world is becoming increasingly interdependent and that this will effect their lives in the futures... Americans' perception of Third World economies affecting the U.S. has grown in recent years. In a 1986 study, 74 percent of Americans said that Third World economies affect the U.S. economy while in 1993, 83 percent of Americans said so... Regarding population and environment issues, Americans do see themselves connected to the world globally... 52 percent said the growth in population will worsen their quality of life, fully 73 percent said it will have a negative effect on the global environment..."
"There has been a growth in the number of Americans who believe that the economies of the Third World affect the U.S. economy a great deal... In 1986, 74 percent claimed so and in 1993 that number had grown to 83 percent..."
"Americans also strongly believe that if Third World countries become strong economically that: US business opportunities in the Third World will be impacted positively (80 percent), US sales and exports will grow (73 percent), the US economy will benefit (72 percent), jobs in the US will benefit (66 percent), national security will benefit (64 percent), you, your family and your community (64 percent), and the environment in the U.S. (54 percent)."
"The American public also believes strongly that helping Third World countries to develop will have and effect on: improving world prosperity (84 percent), improving world peace (80 percent), and improving democracy in the world (76 percent)..."
"The impact of World Population Growth is also evident. A 1994 poll by Pew/GSI cited 73 percent of Americans having the opinion that an increase in world population is likely to have a negative impact on the global environment and 52 percent cited it would worsen the quality of life for them and their families."
Should We Provide Foreign Aid?
"There has been a slight decline in support since the mid- 1980s... in 1986, 54 percent of Americans said they favor economic assistance, while in 1994, 47 percent supported aid with 44 percent opposing. General election voters are slightly more likely to favor economic assistance than non- voters, as are well-educated Americans and those with upper incomes."
"Public support over the years for US aid has been generally favorable. Beginning in 1956 support peaked with some 71 percent supporting economic aid. Generally support over the years has been between 50 percent to 58 percent on average with only a recent drop since 1992 to below 50 percent. Still, more Americans favor U.S. economic assistance than oppose."
Why Should We Be Involved?
"...Americans agree there are some compelling needs and/or reasons that may justify support... humanitarian tops the list, followed by environmental and economic rationales. In fact, in recent years these concerns have replaced security concerns for reasons to provide aid. When Americans think about priorities for foreign aid, humanitarian and economic concerns overshadow past concerns about international security. This has changed dramatically since 1986 when security was the number one reason over humanitarian and economic for providing aid -- while in 1992 security placed last among those three reasons. 'Americans overwhelmingly agree (89 percent) that "wherever people are hungry or poor, we ought to do what we can to help them...'." Reasons for Supporting Aid
Saving the global environment was the strongest argument for foreign aid programs... "Helping other countries become economically stable means more trade and prosperity for the U.S." had strong support. And, "aid to post communist countries to keep them peaceful and to help them become solid democracies and creating new democracies and supporting shaky democracies also had more support than opposition."
"In 1988, 88 percent of American voters approved (59 percent strongly) that the U.S. should send humanitarian aid such as food, clothing and medical supplies as an option for U.S. involvement in conflicts in the Third World... and in 1993, 72 percent of Americans favored the U.S. giving humanitarian aid to developing countries."
U.S. Leadership?
"In both 1992 and 1986 a majority of Americans polled believed that the U.S. government is doing the right amount or less than it should to fight poverty in other parts of the world. In fact, only 35 percent in 1986 and 46 percent in 1992 thought the U.S. was doing too much. A 1993 ABC news poll showed 70 percent of American supporting the U.S. taking a leading role in providing humanitarian aid to victims of wars or natural disasters. And 56 percent went so far as to support the use of U.S. troops to prevent famine or mass starvation."
Threats to U.S. National Security
"With the demise of the Soviet Union and end of the Cold War the public still perceives nuclear proliferation as the greatest critical threat (63 percent) to our security. However, the second and third greatest threats are:... The "loss of rain forests and their animal or plant species" (59 percent critical) and the "loss of ozone in the earth's atmosphere" (56 percent critical) show international environmental concerns to be a major concerns to Americans... Economic factors individually and as a group rank surprising low."
Public Opinion & Development Assistance Ian Smillie
Source: Paper delivered to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), October 25, 1994
"Despite a strong sense of 'compassion fatigue' within the international development community, the evidence from dozens of recent and past opinion polls shows that the public support for international aid programs has remained consistently and surprisingly high for three decades... downward trends (in aid support) are debatable, transitory, or they are simply false..."
"It will require leadership that can inspire ordinary people... that itself understands and conveys the message that long term self-interest lies in long-term disaster prevention rather than short-term crisis management. It requires leadership that has faith in what hundreds of opinion polls and simple common sense tell governments about people -- that they do care, that they want to help; and that they will make sacrifices if they understand them to be in the genuine interest of a better and more secure life for their children."