NEW YORK CITY -- Overall confidence in our nation's foreign policy has declined according to the latest Public Agenda Confidence in U.S. Foreign Policy Index, released jointly today by Public Agenda in cooperation with Foreign Affairs. Casualties in Iraq remain the public's top international concern, but it is now closely followed by the consequences of our nation's energy dependence.

Promoting democracy has become a major goal of U.S. policy, but the public doubts this is a goal America can achieve and is divided on whether it will make our nation more secure even if we do pull it off. Only 36 percent of Americans believe the United States can help other countries become democracies, while 58 percent say democracy is something that countries only come to on their own when they're ready for it. Only 22 percent say our government can do a lot about creating democracy in Iraq in particular.

Public Agenda's in-depth study probes much deeper than typical polls, examining core strategies, beliefs about America's role in the world and how much the public holds the government accountable on specific issues. Supported with funding from the Ford Foundation, the index covers more than 25 different issues through more than 110 different survey questions and is to be issued biannually.

Compared to the previous fielding of the Foreign Policy Index six months ago, the grades the public gave on 23 dimensions of foreign policy performance showed no real area of improvement. The public believes we have done the best job at helping other countries when natural disasters strike (with 80 percent giving an A or B), making sure we have a strong, well-supplied military (65 percent A or B) and giving the war on terror all the attention it deserves (58 percent A or B). Of the 23 areas of foreign policy performance, four factors showed significant declines in ratings, 16 held steady and another three were new to the battery of questions.

The public is especially critical of the job the United States is doing to become less dependent on other countries for our supply of energy. Nearly half give a D or F (46 percent), while only 9 percent gave the United States an A for its efforts to become less dependent on foreign sources of energy. More than half (55 percent) are worried that problems abroad may hurt our supply of oil and raise prices for American consumers.

Public Agenda Chairman Daniel Yankelovich said, In our first edition of the tracking survey last summer, we reported that just one foreign policy issue -- the war in Iraq -- had reached the point at which public opinion could no longer be ignored, the tipping point. Energy dependence has now also hit the tipping point where policy makers must pay heed. When issues like energy dependence really strike at people's daily living and combine with the perception that the government can do something about it but isn't, that is when we start to see increasing pressure to change direction.

With the second edition of the Confidence in Foreign Policy Index, we are gathering insights into public thinking that individual polls can't provide. Americans' perceptions clearly are changing over time and we are learning how public priorities are being formed, said Foreign Affairs Editor James F. Hoge, Jr. Foreign Affairs is proud to partner with Public Agenda on this important research.

The Truth Is Rarely Pure and Never Simple

In the latest edition of the Foreign Policy Index, a new battery of questions explores the public's perceptions of the government's truthfulness on several issues. Very few Americans believe the government has been completely truthful in what it has told the public. On a general question, 51 percent say they trust the government not too much or not at all to tell the truth about relations with other countries.

When the public is asked about specific areas of foreign policy and the war on terrorism, however, the government often gets better grades. More than six in 10, for example, believe the government has beensomewhat or completely truthful about why the U.S. waged war in Afghanistan and how much progress has been made on improving homeland security. More than half (55 percent) say the government has been truthful about how well we are doing in the war on terrorism and on who is responsible for the mistreatment of prisoners in Iraq (53 percent). But 50 percent say the government has been at least somewhat untruthful about why the U.S. invaded Iraq.

Less Urgency on Relations with the Muslim World

As in the first edition of the Foreign Policy Index, Americans remain seriously concerned about our relations with Muslim countries, but the intensity of the concern seems to have declined. Fewer say they worry a lot about this issue. Still, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) give the U.S. a C or worse on these relations. Attitudes toward this issue vary depending upon political party. Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of Democrats give the U.S. a grade of C or worse, while 58 percent of Republicans do.

Continuing Concerns on Immigration and Jobs

Immigration and outsourcing American jobs, two areas of international relations identified as major concerns in the first fielding of the Foreign Policy Index last year, continued to resonate exceptionally strongly with the public in this survey.

There is marked dissatisfaction on illegal immigration. Nearly eight in 10 of those surveyed gave the United States a C or less in protecting our borders from illegal immigration. And this dissatisfaction is nearly universal. Of all the foreign policy issues that the public was asked to grade, immigration shows the least polarization by political party affiliation. The percentage of Americans rating the nation's efforts at protecting our borders from illegal immigration an F has risen (30 percent, from 24 percent) in the last six months.

Finally, the public gives its lowest grades to the government's efforts at protecting their jobs. But this is an issue where the public shows frustration about where to place ultimate responsibility. Close to eight in 10 (78 percent) said that the government could do something or a lot about protecting American jobs. But a majority (52 percent) doesn't think it is realistic to think that the U.S. government will be able to have U.S. companies keep jobs in the United States rather than outsourcing them overseas.And they don't hold American companies responsible either. Close to three-quarters (74 percent) think it is unrealistic to expect that companies will keep jobs in the United States when labor is cheaper elsewhere.

Message for Leaders

According to Public Agenda President Ruth A. Wooden, The Foreign Policy Index is a means of capturing the public's longer-term concerns and judgments about the country's stance in the world. We don't ask people about the President or about Republicans versus Democrats. Instead we ask people to think about how the country is doing overall in its international relations. With this second edition of the Index, we are beginning to hear a strengthening concern in the public voice on foreign policy. The low levels of trust in government, in combination with heightened unease about Iraq, energy dependence and the wariness of democracy building suggest the public's anxiety on foreign policy issues is not likely to abate any time soon.

Methodology:
The Public Agenda Confidence in U.S. Foreign Policy Index is a joint venture with Foreign Affairs, America's most influential publication on international affairs and foreign policy, conducted by Public Agenda with major support from the Ford Foundation. To create the Foreign Policy Index, Public Agenda will regularly interview a nation-wide random sample of adult Americans to track the changing state of mind of average Americans toward our foreign policy -- what worries people most, where they support or resist present foreign policy, what their priorities are, and what foreign policy initiatives make sense to them. This second iteration of the study was based on interviews with a national random sample of 1,000 adults over the age of 18 between January 10 and January 22, 2006. It covered more than 25 different issues in more than 110 different survey questions. The margin of error for the overall sample is plus or minus four percentage points. Full survey results can be found at www.publicagenda.org, www.confidenceinforeignpolicy.org or www.foreignaffairs.org.

Since 1922, the Council on Foreign Relations has published Foreign Affairs, America's most influential publication on international affairs and foreign policy. Foreign Affairs has a circulation of 140,000 and was ranked #1 in influence by U.S. opinion leaders in last year's national study of publications conducted by Erdos & Morgan, the premier business-to-business research firm. Inevitably, articles published in Foreign Affairs shape the political dialogue for months and years to come. www.foreignaffairs.org.

Public Agenda is a nonprofit organization dedicated to nonpartisan public policy research. Founded in 1975 by former U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and Daniel Yankelovich, the social scientist and
author, Public Agenda is well respected for its influential public opinion surveys and balanced citizen education materials. Its mission is to inject the public's voice into crucial policy debates. Public Agenda seeks to inform leaders about the public's views and to engage citizens in discussing complex policy issues.