Why US presidential candidates should care about global opinion
Andrew Hammond says American presidential candidates can't ignore what the world thinks
Since the early years of the cold war, foreign policy has generally ceased to be the biggest issue for American voters in presidential elections. Instead, the economy is what matters most.
November's presidential ballot will - probably - continue this pattern. Voters remain most concerned by the sluggish economic recovery which last week prompted the US Federal Reserve to begin a new, third round of quantitative easing.
Nonetheless, Americans are still thinking about foreign policy. In recent days, for instance, many will have reflected upon the tragic murder of four of their countrymen in Libya, and the ongoing protests in numerous Muslim-majority countries at an anti-Islamic film originating in America.
More than a decade after September 11, a critical mass of the electorate believes America should engage more cautiously in international affairs, with the possible exception of Iran. Here, some polls show sizeable public support for efforts to prevent Tehran developing nuclear weapons, even if that necessitates American military action.
Iran is just one of the international issues on which Republican nominee Mitt Romney has articulated a more assertive posture than Democratic candidate Barack Obama. Others examples include Russia, which Romney has declared Washington's "No 1" geopolitical foe. And, China, which the Republican nominee has accused of stealing US technology and intellectual property, and of currency manipulation - with the implicit threat of sanctions should he become president.
Given the large stakes in play, many international audiences are showing a keen interest in the election outcome. According to a Pew Global Attitudes Project report in June, more than a third of populations in countries as diverse as Britain, Germany, Jordan, Lebanon, China, India and Japan are either "closely or somewhat closely" following the campaign.
As in 2008, international publics tend to favour Obama's election in 2012. But there has been a marked decline in international approval of his policies since he took office.