In search of soft power: does foreign public opinion matter for U.S. foreign policy?

Does “soft power” matter in international relations? Specifically, when the US seeks cooperation from countries around the world, do the views of their publics about US foreign policy affect the actual foreign policy behaviour of these countries? Benjamin E. Goldsmith (University of Sydney) and Yusaku Horiuchi (Australian National University) examine this question using multinational surveys covering 58 countries, combined with information about foreign policy decisions in 2003, a critical year for the US. Goldsmith and Horiuchi were able to complete this research with the assistance of a grant from the US Studies Centre.