• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
Public Opinion and Power
Book

Public Opinion and Power

This chapter examines how world public opinion influences the United States' ability to exercise influence abroad militarily, economically, and politically. It concludes by discussing the difference between opposition to American foreign policy, on the one hand, and anti-Americanism, on the other hand, and exploring that difference's policy implications.

Link Copied
By Ali Wyne
Published on Nov 3, 2008
Program mobile hero image

Program

Asia

The Asia Program in Washington studies disruptive security, governance, and technological risks that threaten peace, growth, and opportunity in the Asia-Pacific region, including a focus on China, Japan, and the Korean peninsula.

Learn More
Program mobile hero image

Program

Middle East

The Middle East Program in Washington combines in-depth regional knowledge with incisive comparative analysis to provide deeply informed recommendations. With expertise in the Gulf, North Africa, Iran, and Israel/Palestine, we examine crosscutting themes of political, economic, and social change in both English and Arabic.

Learn More

Source: Routledge

Although opposition to American foreign policy is particularly pronounced in the Arab-Muslim world, it has reached alarming levels even in those countries that America counts as its closest allies.  Thus, in 2006, Anthony King, one of the world’s preeminent political scientists, observed that, "There has probably never been a time when America was held in such low esteem on this side of the Atlantic."  How does this state of affairs impact American foreign policy?  Joseph Nye has contributed greatly to the discourse on this question by introducing the notion of "soft power:" A nation wields soft power if it can convince others to support its objectives without having to employ force, economic sanctions, or other coercive instruments of statecraft.   Extending Nye's concept, Ali Wyne examines how world public opinion influences the United States' ability to exercise influence abroad. 

Please click here to read the rest of the chapter. 

This book is available from Routledge.
To order the book from Routledge, please click here. 

Ali Wyne is a Junior Fellow in the China Program.

About the Author

Ali Wyne

Former Junior Fellow, China Program

Ali Wyne
Former Junior Fellow, China Program
North AmericaUnited StatesMiddle EastSouth AsiaChinaPolitical ReformEconomyForeign Policy

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  • Robot arm with disposable test tube virus sampling in laboratory
    Commentary
    Caught in the Middle: Chinese Biotech Firms’ Divergent Responses to U.S. Sanctions

    Chinese biotech companies have been on the receiving end of U.S. economic coercion. Yet their responses have differed significantly because firm and state interests are not uniformly aligned. For Washington, treating all Chinese tech firms the same, irrespective of their actual interests, risks pushing them farther into Beijing’s corner.

      Xue Gong

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Russia’s Rubber-Stamp Duma Elections Are Exposing Schisms in Putin's Regime

    In the discussions made possible by the State Duma election campaign, one question is being asked more and more loudly. “What next?”

      Andrey Pertsev

  • Two people in blue PPE standing over large metal rolls
    Commentary
    Emissary
    Inside the Global Race to Erode a Battery Manufacturing Monopoly

    Over the past decade, China has moved from marginal player to major producer of all things batteries. The United States, Europe, and others are aiming to balance the market.

      Milo McBride

  • Aerial View of a Geothermal Energy Plant in the Imperial Valley of California near the Salton Sea
    Paper
    A Geothermal and Nuclear Strategy for the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation

    The DFC should focus on advanced, low-carbon energy sources, prioritizing areas where the United States has comparative advantages.

      • Noah J. Gordon

      Noah Gordon, Liana Schmitter-Emerson

  • Lee and Lula walking
    Commentary
    Emissary
    Why Korea’s President Skipped Washington for Silicon Valley and Brasília

    Lee’s tour shows how Seoul is reorganizing its diplomacy away from Pyongyang and toward industrial networks and the geography of the compute economy.

      Darcie Draudt-Véjares

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.