The vast majority of Australians say the world is becoming more hazardous and their confidence that America will play a constructive role in global affairs has plummeted since Donald Trump became president.
New polling shows 89 percent of Australians agree the world has become more dangerous during the past year, 8 percent more than last year. The survey also revealed just 37 percent of Australians now believe the United States has an “overall positive” influence on world affairs, a huge 23 percentage points lower than in 2016.
Ipsos, Australia research director, Laura Demasi, attributed this slump to the behavior of Mr. Trump since he became the U.S. president in January. “On a global scale, people are clearly nervous about Trump’s unpredictably and are worried about what his ‘America first’ agenda really means for the rest of the world,” she said.
The survey questioned more than 18,000 respondents from 25 countries including Australia, and found more than eight in 10 respondents agreed the world had become more dangerous over the past year. The poll followed a spate of terrorist attacks although it was conducted before the Manchester concert bombing and the assault on London Bridge and Borough Market.
The share of Australians agreeing the world had become more dangerous during the past year was 3 percentage points above the international average and higher than in some nations that had recently experienced major terrorism incidents, including Britain and France.
In Britain 86 percent agreed the world had become dangerous over the past year, 3 percentage points lower than in Australia.
In France, the share of people believing the world had become more dangerous was 81 percent, 6 percentage points lower than last year. That’s despite a spate of deadly terrorist attacks in France.
Ms. Demasi said the results showed Australians did not feel insulated from terrorism. “I don’t think borders matter when it comes to terrorism; it’s become a distinctly global fear,” she said. “So when Australians see things happening overseas, there’s a sense of when it will happen here, not if.”
The survey points to a dramatic slump in the reputation of the United States. Internationally, only 40 per cent thought the US had a positive influence in world affairs, down 24 percentage points compared with last year.
Canada topped the list of countries that had a positive influence on world affairs (81 percent), followed by Australia (79 percent) and Germany (67 percent). “Canada, Australia and Germany are seen as the ‘neutral’ countries that still have some positive influence on the world, in a time characterized by the rise of nationalistic populism where so many other countries are turning inward,” Ms. Demasi said.
France and Russia experienced a decline in their reputations, down 12 per cent and 11 per cent respectively. The share of respondents who considered the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to play a positive role in world affairs also dropped.
Brazil had the highest share of citizens who believed the world had become more dangerous over the past year (95 percent) while China had the lowest share among the 25 nations surveyed (70 percent).
“We are living in the time of the end, a time crowded with events in process of fulfillment, all working to bring about that great day when Christ shall be revealed in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. The last years of probation are fast closing. The signs of the times—the wars and rumors of wars, the strikes, murders, robberies, and accidents—tell us that the end of all things is at hand. Who can doubt the truth of the prophet’s words. “The wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand”? Many of the inhabitants of the world have given themselves into Satan’s control. They co-operate with him, helping him to carry out his plans against the government of God. Under his guidance, men have lost their horror of bloodshed and murder.” Review and Herald, May 13, 1902.