Chicago Council Survey

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

About

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.

American and Ukrainian flags fly side by side
2022 Chicago Council Survey The 2022 Chicago Council Survey includes key findings covering topics like COVID-19, immigration, climate change, and much more.
Read more

Chicago Council Surveys

Explore nearly 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.

Subscribe

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
Senior Fellow, Public Opinion and Foreign Policy
Headshot for Dina Smeltz
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.
Headshot for Dina Smeltz
Karl Friedhoff
Marshall M. Bouton Fellow for Asia Studies
Council expert Karl Friedhoff
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.
Council expert Karl Friedhoff
Craig Kafura
Assistant Director, Public Opinion and Foreign Policy
Craig Kafura is the assistant director for 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
Headshot for Lama El Baz
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.
Headshot for Lama El Baz

Many Americans have come to appreciate … that national security threats are best understood as anything that can kill or severely harm large numbers of Americans, devastate our economy or upend our way of life. According to the recently released, highly respected Chicago Council Survey of American Public Opinion and US Foreign Policy, most Americans embrace this expanded conception of national security.

Susan Rice Headshot Former National Security Advisor Susan Rice New York Times Op-ed, September 22, 2020