Americans Want a Less Aggressive Foreign Policy. It's Time Lawmakers Listened to Them

1. But this study provides the clearest picture yet of how Americans view the world at a moment when U.S. President Donald Trump is taking an unprecedented approach to foreign policy, and the fault lines of American politics are being redrawn.
2. But that is an assumption that is not necessarily shared by the American public, based on the findings of a new study Worlds Apart: U.S. Foreign Policy and American Public Opinion, conducted by the Eurasia Group Foundation (EGF), an organization I serve as Board President.
3. Rather, as the report's author Mark Hannah observes, support for American exceptionalism and leadership is linked to the power of America's example, and is not necessarily indicative of support for active intervention in global affairs. Americans believe exceptionalism is better expressed by the power of what the U.S. does at home, rather than by a project to remake the world in America's image.
4. That's especially true when the U.S. foreign policy establishment continues to be wedded to its view of American exceptionalism at a time of profound change in the world order.
5. For decades, American foreign policy has rested on a consensus view about the United States role in the world.
6. Furthermore, when foreign policy is pursued without significant public support, foreign governments perceive the United States as a less dependable and predictable partner; foreign enemies see potential divisions to be exploited.
7. No matter what party they claim allegiance to, Americans favor a foreign policy that resists entanglements abroad, the survey found and it's not limited to conservative libertarians on the right and liberal pacifists on the left.

http://time.com/5532307/worlds-apart-foreign-policy-public-opinion-poll-eurasia/