[Public Opinion Brief 49-1] Global Soft Power and Global Leadership Assessment

[Public Opinion Brief 49] Assessment of Global and Asian Leadership

1. Global Soft Power and Global Leadership Assessment

2. Leadership Competition in Asia

Obama's Soft Power and Global Leadership Rapidly Recovering

President Hu Jintao's Leadership Significantly Lags Behind Obama's in International Leadership Reputation

- Hu Jintao's Leadership Valued in Asia Does Not Resonate in Western Countries

Ban Ki-moon Ranks Second Among Trusted Global Leaders

The world is suffering from non-traditional security threats that transcend traditional geopolitical security threats, such as economic crises, terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction including nuclear weapons, and various influenza outbreaks. Amidst the response to these complex security threats, attention is focused on the leadership of major powers and their leaders. The United States, recognized as the sole hegemonic power in the post-Cold War era, saw its status significantly shaken after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In contrast, China is emerging as a formidable power, often referred to as 'G-2', rivaling the United States.

Indeed, a survey of global public opinion in 19 countries in 2008 measuring the trustworthiness of leaders of major powers revealed that then-U.S. President George W. Bush ranked at the bottom along with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This was a comprehensive assessment by citizens of various countries on the question of 'how much is the following leader doing the right thing in the world.' It starkly illustrated the weakening of American soft power. Furthermore, in the 2008 survey, no global leader received more than 40% support from people worldwide. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon ranked first with only 35% trust. Newsweek at the time pointed to these results as indicative of a 'global leadership vacuum,' identifying it as a destabilizing factor in the international order.

In 2009, using the same methodology, public opinion was surveyed in 20 countries regarding the top leaders of the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, the UN, and Iran, who are leading the power competition. According to the results of a survey conducted by WorldPublicOpinion.org (WPO), an international public opinion research institution at the University of Maryland, with East Asia Institute and Maeil Business Newspaper as collaborating institutions in Korea, among the 19,244 respondents across 20 countries, a remarkable 61% expressed trust in President Obama as a global leader. President Obama, the first African American president, symbolizing the values of multilateral cooperation and respect, has rapidly risen to become the center of global leadership.

In this survey as well, no leader other than the U.S. president received majority support. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who ranked first last year with 35% support, this year received 40% support, sharing the second position with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Following them were British Prime Minister Gordon Brown (38%), French President Nicolas Sarkozy (36%), and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (34%).

Meanwhile, China, which has been rapidly growing and is recently referred to as G2 in international society, fell short of expectations in terms of international leadership reputation. Only an average of 32% across all surveyed countries expressed trust in Chinese President Hu Jintao's international leadership. This result was only slightly higher than that of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (28%), who garnered attention from the international community for his nuclear development and strong anti-American stance, and was lower than that of other Western leaders. Notably, citizens in Western countries were indifferent. Only 25% of Americans, 15% of Germans, and 14% of French citizens responded that they found him trustworthy. However, positive opinions were dominant in major Asian countries such as Pakistan (80%), Taiwan (60%), South Korea (51%), and India (50%). Consequently, China's leadership still has a long way to go to lead the world in place of the United States.

[Figure 1] Public Opinion in 20 Countries on Global Leaders' Trustworthiness: Percentage of "Very Trust" + "Somewhat Trust" Responses

Note 1. Public opinion from a respondent's own country is excluded when evaluating their own leader.

Note 2. This is the sum of responses for "Very Trust" and "Somewhat Trust" among "Very Trust," "Somewhat Trust," "Not Very Trust," and "Not at All Trust."

Note 3. For the United States, this refers to the assessment of then-President George W. Bush in 2008.