Chicago Council Survey

Data and analysis tracking trends and shifts in American public opinion and US foreign policy since 1974.

50 Years of Polling America

The Chicago Council Survey provides the most comprehensive view of American public opinion on critical US foreign policy issues, highlighting critical trends and shifts in thinking over time since 1974. The Council’s polling experts, their annual report, and related topical briefs compose the Council’s most recognized area of research. A signature area of study under the Lester Crown Center on US Foreign Policy, the Chicago Council Survey provides the public with a mechanism for sharing views with politicians and decision makers who each year cite the survey as a valuable resource for influencing policy debates.

A collage of covers of the annual Chicago Council Survey.

Go behind the scenes of the Chicago Council Survey as it marks 50 years of bringing the voices of everyday Americans into the foreign policy conversation.

Chicago Council Surveys

Explore a half-century of American public opinion and US foreign policy in annual research reports and data sets that can be downloaded.

Opinion Leader Surveys

Explore surveys of American government, media, business, think tank, religious, and academic leaders to compare trends in their thinking with the public's thinking.

Subscribe to Foreign Policy Matters

Sign up to receive a biweekly email with all the latest survey findings, research, analysis, and commentary from Crown Center experts and featured speakers.

International Surveys

Explore surveys conducted with international partner organizations that parallel the signature Chicago Council Survey to compare public opinion across the world.

About the Survey Team

Dina Smeltz

Vice President, Public Opinion and Foreign Policy

Dina Smeltz, a polling expert, has more than 25 years of experience designing and fielding international social and political surveys. Prior to joining the Council to lead its annual survey of American attitudes on US foreign policy, she served in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research at the US State Department's Office of Research from 1992 to 2008.

Karl Friedhoff

Marshall M. Bouton Fellow for Asia Studies

Karl Friedhoff was a Korea Foundation-Mansfield Foundation US-Korea Nexus Scholar and a member of the Mansfield Foundation’s Trilateral Working Group prior to joining the Council. Previously, he was a program officer in the Public Opinion Studies Program at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies based in Seoul, South Korea.

Craig Kafura

Director, Public Opinion and Foreign Policy

Craig Kafura is the director of public opinion and foreign policy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, a Security Fellow with the Truman National Security Project, and a Pacific Forum Young Leader. At the Council, he coordinates work on public opinion and foreign policy and is a regular contributor to the public opinion and foreign policy blog Running Numbers.

Lama El Baz

Research Assistant, Public Opinion and US Foreign Policy

Lama El Baz joined the Chicago Council on Global Affairs in 2023 as a research assistant for the public opinion and US foreign policy team within the Lester Crown Center. She is passionate about public opinion research, data analytics, and the regional affairs of the Middle East and North Africa.

Media Contact

Libby Berry

Communications Officer

Contact

lberry@globalaffairs.org