The Chicago Council on Global Affairs

01/28/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/28/2026 04:27

The Growing Partisan Divide on US Foreign Policy

Results and analysis of the Council's 2025 annual survey of American views on foreign policy.

The world seems to be falling apart. Conflicts rage in Ukraine, Sudan, Nigeria, the Congo, Yemen, and many other countries. The Israel-Hamas ceasefire is holding but tenuous, protesters are risking their lives on the streets of Iran, and Venezuela faces an uncertain future. It may seem like the world has hit new levels of strife, but a review of the 50 years of Chicago Council Survey data on American public opinion reminds us that Americans have lived through upheaval before, with varying impacts on the US public's outlook for the country's place and responsibility on the global stage.

In the aftermath of the Vietnam War in 1974, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs conducted its first survey of American public opinion on US foreign policy. In the five decades since, the Chicago Council illuminated public sentiment during and after the Iran hostage crisis, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the September 11 attacks, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the rise of China, Russia's decade-long war in Ukraine, and the ascent of Donald Trump to the presidency.

Since the first Chicago Council Survey, results have shown consistency in public support for the broad principles of US foreign policy despite global volatility. Majorities across the political spectrum support an active role for the United States in the world, support US alliances, and support the US overseas military presence, Americans generally align on the use of force when an ally or the United States is directly threatened. Republicans, Democrats, and Independents also view international trade as good for the country and say free trade agreements are an effective way to realize US foreign policy goals.

Yet these results show a widening partisan divide when it comes to the application of these broad principles, especially since 2015 and the advent of America First agenda. While Americans across the political spectrum once viewed immigration, globalization, engagement with China, and support for Israel and Ukraine similarly, this is no longer the case. Now Republicans and Democrats-and Independents, whose opinions resemble those of Democrats more than Republicans in the most recent survey-see the world and America's role in it differently. They disagree on what priorities and threats are most critical to the vital interests of the United States, an important focal point for any administration. Partisans also disagree on whether multilateralism or unilateralism is the better approach to US involvement in the world, whether increasing diversity in the United States has more positive or negative impacts for the country, and on specific US foreign policies toward contentious international problems.

Read the full report.

Related Reports and Analysis of 2025 Data

About the Chicago Council Survey The Chicago Council Survey has tracked American public opinion on important US foreign policy issues since 1974. Now in its 50th year, it remains a valuable resource for shaping debates and informing key decisions.
2025 Chicago Council Survey Team
Saafya Alnaqib
Public Opinion Intern
Saafya Alnaqib joined the Council in June 2024 as an intern on the public opinion team.
Communications Officer
As the communications officer for the Lester Crown Center, Libby Berry works to connect audiences with foreign policy research and analysis.
Sam Dong
Research Consultant
Sam Dong joined the Chicago Council as a public opinion and US foreign policy research consultant in June 2025.
Research Assistant, Public Opinion and US Foreign Policy
Lama El Baz joined the Chicago Council on Global Affairs in 2023 as a research assistant for the public opinion and US foreign policy team within the Lester Crown Center. She is passionate about public opinion research, data analytics, and the regional affairs of the Middle East and North Africa.
Karl Friedhoff
Former Marshall M. Bouton Fellow for Asia Studies
Karl Friedhoff was a Korea Foundation-Mansfield Foundation US-Korea Nexus Scholar and a member of the Mansfield Foundation's Trilateral Working Group prior to joining the Council. Previously, he was a program officer in the Public Opinion Studies Program at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies based in Seoul, South Korea.
Debi Jin
Public Opinion Intern
Debi Jin joined the Chicago Council on Global Affairs in 2025 as an intern for the public opinion and US foreign policy team.
Director, Public Opinion and Foreign Policy
Craig Kafura is the director of public opinion and foreign policy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, a Security Fellow with the Truman National Security Project, and a Pacific Forum Young Leader. At the Council, he coordinates work on public opinion and foreign policy and is a regular contributor to the public opinion and foreign policy blog Running Numbers.
Katie Keil
Public Opinion Intern
Katie Keil joined the Chicago Council on Global Affairs in 2025 as an intern for the public opinion and US foreign policy team.
Tim O'Brien
Public Opinion Intern
Tim O'Brien joined the Council as a public opinion and US foreign policy intern in January 2025.
Managing Director & Chair, Public Opinion and Foreign Policy
Dina Smeltz, a polling expert, has more than 25 years of experience designing and fielding international social and political surveys. Prior to joining the Council to lead its annual survey of American attitudes on US foreign policy, she served in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research at the US State Department's Office of Research from 1992 to 2008.
Foreign Policy Advisory Board
Senior Nonresident Fellow, Public Opinion and Foreign Policy
Joshua Busby is a professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas in Austin. He is also a senior nonresident fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
Senior Nonresident Fellow, Eurasia Affairs
Alexander Cooley is the Claire Tow Professor of Political Science at Barnard College and former director of Columbia University's Harriman Institute for the Study of Russia, Eurasia, and Eastern Europe. His research focuses on sovereignty, governance, and political development in post-Communist states, especially in Central Asia and the Caucasus. He joined the Chicago Council as a senior nonresident fellow, Eurasia Affairs in 2025.
Senior Nonresident Fellow, Public Opinion and Foreign Policy
Daniel W. Drezner is a senior nonresident fellow of public opinion and foreign policy at the Council. He's currently a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and the author of "Spoiler Alerts" at The Washington Post.
Heather Hurlburt
Associate Fellow, US and the Americas Program, Chatham House
Heather Hurlburt has spent her career bridging the gap between international affairs and American politics and is an Associate Fellow in the US and the Americas Program at Chatham House. From 2022 to 2024, she served as chief of staff to US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, overseeing strategy and management for the agency carrying out President Biden's worker-centered trade policy.
Senior Nonresident Fellow, Public Opinion and Foreign Policy
Bruce W. Jentleson is a senior nonresident fellow of public opinion and foreign policy at the Council and a professor of public policy and political science at Duke University. He's served in a number of US foreign policy positions, including senior advisor to the State Department Policy Planning Director, and a senior foreign policy advisor to the 2000 Al Gore presidential campaign, among others.
James M. Lindsay
Mary and David Boies Distinguished Senior Fellow in US Foreign Policy and Director of Fellowship Affairs, Council on Foreign Relations
James M. Lindsay, the Mary and David Boies distinguished senior fellow in US foreign policy and director of Fellowship Affairs at the Council on Foreign Relations, focuses on US national security policy, the US foreign policymaking process, and the domestic politics of US foreign policy.
ST Lee Professor of US-Asia Relations, Harvard Kennedy School
Rana Mitter is ST Lee Chair in US-Asia Relations at Harvard Kennedy School. He is the author of "China's Good War: How World War II is Shaping a New Nationalism" (2020) and "Forgotten Ally: China's World War II" (2013), and he regularly comments on China in media and at international forums.
Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago
Robert Pape is a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, specializing in national and international security affairs. He directs the Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism and focuses on air power, political violence, terrorism, and US national security policy.
Senior Nonresident Fellow, Foreign Policy and Public Opinion
Paul Poast is an associate professor of political science at the University of Chicago. In addition to being a senior nonresident fellow on foreign policy and public opinion at the Council, he's also a foreign affairs columnist for World Politics Review. His research, funded by the National Science Foundation, has received numerous awards and recognitions-notably the Walter Isard Award and the Lepgold Prize.
Senior Director, Future Frontlines and Planetary Politics, New America
Candace Rondeaux is the senior director for New America's Future Frontlines program on next generation security issues, as well as the Planetary Politics initiative, which seeks solutions to the challenges posed by digitization and decarbonization.
Elizabeth Saunders
Professor of Political Science, Columbia University
Elizabeth Saunders is a professor of political science at Columbia University, in addition to serving as director of the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies.
Kori Schake
Senior Fellow and Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute
Kori Schake is a senior fellow and the director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Before joining AEI, she was the deputy director-general of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. She is the author of five books, including her most recent, "The State and the Soldier: A History of Civil-Military Relations in the United States" (2025).
Senior Nonresident Fellow, Public Opinion and Foreign Policy
Jordan Tama is a senior nonresident fellow of public opinion and foreign policy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. He's a professor in the Department of Foreign Policy and Global Security at American University and a principal at Bridging the Gap.
President & Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Dr. Leslie Vinjamuri joined the Council in 2025 as the president and chief executive officer, after previously serving as director of the US and the Americas program at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, known as Chatham House, in London. She brings nearly 30 years of experience working at the intersection of international affairs, research, policy, and public engagement.

Media Contact

Libby Berry

Communications Officer
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs published this content on January 28, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on January 28, 2026 at 10:27 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]