May 16, 2007

The American public does not merely tolerate the existence of the United Nations. Large majorities actually want the world body to have more muscle. This according to a poll from WorldPublicOpinion.org and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

According to the poll, 79% of Americans view strengthening the United Nations as a "very" or "somewhat" important foreign policy goal. "While leaders of nation states may be wary of giving the United Nations more power it is clear that publics around the world are comfortable with the idea of a stronger U.N.," said Steven Kull, editor of WorldPublicOpinion.org.

And how should it be strengthened?

• Almost 3/4 of Americans (72%) support "having a standing U.N. peacekeeping force selected, trained and commanded by the United Nations." (There is currently no standing U.N. peacekeeping force, only ad hoc forces organized from scratch and donated by countries each time there is a need.)
• A surprising 60% of Americans support "giving the U.N. the power to regulate the international arms trade." (Official U.S. policy opposes this out of fear that it might infringe on small arms sales in the United States.)
• Majorities of Americans support the idea of giving the U.N. Security Council the right to authorize the use of force "to defend countries from outside aggression, to prevent governments from supporting terrorist groups and to protect people from genocide. There is also support, though more modest, for such action to prevent nuclear proliferation and reverse the overthrow of a democratic government." (Some governments are opposed to giving the Security Council more authority because it does not reflect the current global power structure.)

• Americans were split (45% favor, 50% oppose) on the idea of allowing the United Nations "to fund its activities by imposing a small tax on such things as the international sale of arms or oil." (The U.N. currently depends entirely on contributions from member governments.)

More resources on the United Nations:

• Full poll results
• How to Keep From Overselling or Underestimating the United Nations (A conservative and a progressive discuss the merits of the United Nations.)
• Resources from About.com