1.
Thought Leader Survey:
Issues Impacting the Transatlantic Relationship
Bruce Stokes
In collaboration with
Director, Global Economic Attitudes March 2017
CORRECTION: In a previous version of this
presentation, the confidence ratings for Vladimir
Putin and Xi Jinping were reversed in the slide
“Confidence in Merkel Far Outpaces Trust in Trump,
Other Leaders.” It was updated Feb. 27, 2018, to
show that the confidence ratings were 39% for Xi
and 10% for Putin.

2.
February 27, 2018 2
Pew Research Center
• Established 1996
• Funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, foundations
• Non-profit, non-partisan fact tank in Washington
• Research topics:
U.S. politics
Media and the news
Social trends
Internet and technology
Science
Hispanics
Global public opinion and migration
• www.pewresearch.org
www.pewresearch.org

3.
February 27, 2018 3www.pewresearch.org
Methodology
• Results of online survey, conducted from January 18 to March 16, 2017
• Respondents include Brussels Forum invitees and alumni of GMF’s Marshall
Memorial Fellowship, Transatlantic Inclusion Leaders (TILN), Manfred Wörner
Seminar (MWS) or American Political Science Association (APSA)
• 135 invitees, 450 alumni: 585 total respondents
• Pew Research Center will release a report later this year comparing views of
thought leaders with those of the general public in 10 European countries,
U.S. and Canada

4.
February 27, 2018 4www.pewresearch.org
Climate Change, Cyberattacks Seen as Greatest Threats
70%
66
62
55
55
31
29
25
Global climate change
Cyberattacks from other countries
Russia's power and influence
The condition of the global economy
ISIS
China's power and influence
Large number of refugees leaving Iraq/Syria
U.S. power and influence
% saying each is a major threat to their country
Source: Pew Research Center survey of German Marshall Fund Transatlantic thought leaders.

5.
February 27, 2018 5www.pewresearch.org
Americans and Europeans Differ on Major Threats
84%
79
47
18
56%
66
23
35
Americans Europeans
Cyberattacks from other
countries
Global climate change
China's power and influence
Large number of refugees leaving
Iraq/Syria
% saying each is a major threat to their country
Note: Only statistically significant differences shown.
Source: Pew Research Center survey of German Marshall Fund Transatlantic thought leaders.

6.
February 27, 2018 6www.pewresearch.org
Transatlantic Relations Expected to Worsen
77%
62
62
20%
31
28
3%
6
9
Diplomatic issues
Economic issues
Security issues
Get worse Stay about the same Get better
Over the next 12 months, do you think that relations between Europe and the U.S. will get better, get
worse or stay about the same when it comes to …
Source: Pew Research Center survey of German Marshall Fund Transatlantic thought leaders.

7.
February 27, 2018 7www.pewresearch.org
Conflicting Views About Whether U.S. Would Honor Article 5
If Russia got into a serious military conflict with one of its neighboring countries that is a NATO ally,
do you think the United States would or would not use military force to defend that country?
49%
40
57
41
59
46
52
46%
57
41
57
39
47
45
Total
Women
Men
18-44
45+
U.S.
Europe
Yes, U.S. would use forceNo, U.S. would not use force
Note: Statistically significant differences in bold.
Source: Pew Research Center survey of German Marshall Fund Transatlantic thought leaders.

8.
February 27, 2018 8www.pewresearch.org
Confidence in Merkel Far Outpaces Trust in Trump,
Other Leaders
7%
61
87
90
92%
39
13
10
German Chancellor Merkel
Chinese President Xi
U.S. President Trump
Russian President Putin
Some/a lot of confidenceNot too much/no confidence
How much confidence do you have in __ to do the right thing regarding world affairs?
Source: Pew Research Center survey of German Marshall Fund Transatlantic thought leaders.
CORRECTION: This slide
was updated Feb. 27, 2018,
to reflect corrected approval
ratings for Xi and Putin

9.
February 27, 2018 9www.pewresearch.org
Trump’s Negative Qualities Seen as Outweighing
the Positive
94%
88 85
48
30
15
6
Arrogant Intolerant Dangerous Charismatic A strong
leader
Cares about
ordinary
people
Well-qualified
to be
president
Do you think each of the following characteristics describes U.S. President Donald Trump?
Positive characteristicsNegative characteristics
Source: Pew Research Center survey of German Marshall Fund Transatlantic thought leaders.

10.
February 27, 2018 10
All Pew Research Center reports and data are
available online at www.pewresearch.org
www.pewresearch.org