Survey Says: Foreign Policy Does Matter in 2012

While some political leaders are now calling on America to focus more on domestic matters—for example, President Obama asserted last month that “it’s time to do some nation-building right here at home”—a recent national survey conducted by the Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI) found that an overwhelming majority of Americans (92.2% of respondents) believe it is important for the United States to continue playing a significant role in world affairs. Indeed, more than a decade after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a very strong majority of Americans (85.7%) say that the United States is a “force for good in the world.”