{"id":27918,"date":"2023-03-08T09:04:26","date_gmt":"2023-03-08T14:04:26","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-07-09T14:54:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T18:54:47","slug":"how-young-adults-want-their-country-to-engage-with-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/global\/2023\/03\/08\/how-young-adults-want-their-country-to-engage-with-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"How Young Adults Want Their Country To Engage With the World"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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How Young Adults Want Their Country To Engage With the World<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Focus group findings from France, Germany, the UK and the U.S.<\/h2>\n\n
By<\/span> Laura Silver<\/a>, <\/span>Moira Fagan<\/a>, <\/span>Jordan Lippert<\/a>, <\/span>Shannon Greenwood<\/a>, <\/span>Chris Baronavski<\/a> and<\/span> Michael Keegan<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Decades of cross-national surveys have found that younger people tend to be more internationally oriented than older adults. They usually have more positive views of international organizations<\/a> and foreign countries<\/a> and are more likely to prioritize international cooperation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But young people differ from one another over how<\/em> they want their country to engage with the world. Some feel their country has an obligation to people beyond their borders. Others doubt their country has the resources to pursue international actions. To better understand these perspectives, we conducted 16 focus groups with young adults in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In each country, there were four focus groups, organized around their participants\u2019 ideologies and views on foreign engagement. Despite different histories and current political climates, four distinct attitudes about how best to engage with the world were consistent cross-nationally:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The left-leaning, internationally engaged <\/strong>groups emphasize the moral duty to be involved overseas. Still, there is a great deal of doubt about whether they can trust their government to get involved for the right reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The left-leaning, domestically focused <\/strong>groups also feel a moral obligation to help overseas. But skepticism about their government and a widespread sense that their own country needs dramatic changes leads them to prioritize \u201cgetting their own house in order.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The right-leaning, domestically focused <\/strong>groups see their country in a state of economic distress. They feel that their country\u2019s resources are limited and that it is more important to focus on domestic issues than to send resources abroad \u2013 and that their country should strive for self-sufficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The right-leaning, internationally engaged <\/strong>groups see their country as intertwined with others. They view international cooperation as benefiting their country\u2019s economic and security interests.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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