Common Ground • August 1st, 2022

Here's Where Democrats and Republicans Agree on Foreign Policy

Common Ground,Foreign Policy,World,Bipartisanship

Mathias Reding/ Pexels

Should America be the world's police?

How much should we intervene in other countries’ affairs, if ever?

How much power should the U.S. give to international institutions like the United Nations?

These are recurring questions that the American public revisits every few years. There is fierce debate on all sides of the political spectrum about how much influence and involvement the U.S. should have on the world stage.

With the United States consistently oscillating between isolationist and interventionist periods depending on the political climate, views about foreign policy tend to shift with the times. Even so, party divisions exist on this issue, as does common ground. Here are a few examples of data and stories to support that:

According to a 2024 Pew report, 73% of Americans believe protecting the US from terrorist attacks should be a top priority. Additionally, 79% of Americans consider cyberterrorism and Iran's nuclear weapons development (77%) to be critical threats to the United States, according to a 2024 Gallup report.
57% of Republicans, 82% of Democrats, and 72% of Independents say the US should be more willing to make decisions with allies even if that results in the US agreeing to a policy that is not its first choice. This is from 2021 data from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
In the 2020 election, 57% of both Trump and Biden voters ranked foreign policy as very important to their voting decision according to Pew Research (Center bias) data.
According to a 2025 Gallup survey, preventing future acts of terrorism is a “very important” goal to 80% of Democrats, 82% Independents, and 91% of Republicans.
According to a 2024 survey by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, 64% of Americans believe that international security alliances are mutually beneficial, helping both the US and its allies. A slight majority (51%) specifically see these alliances as good for the United States.
According to a 2024 Pew Research survey, 65% of Americans believe that free-trade in general is a good thing. A solid majority of Democrats (79%) express a positive view of free trade agreements and their benefits to the United States while about half of Republicans (53%) share this sentiment.
According to 2025 Gallup data, overwhelming majorities support maintaining the NATO alliance, including 92% of Democrats, 75% of independents, and 64% of Republicans.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE:

According to 2024 reports by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, there is widespread agreement among political leaders in favor of stronger diplomatic and economic sanctions against Russia due to its invasion, with 93% of Democrats, 92% of Republicans, and 79% of Independents showing support. This sentiment is followed by the American public, where 69% overall, including 77% of Democrats, 66% of Republicans, and 63% of Independents, advocate for increased pressure on Moscow through economic and diplomatic measures.
In terms of sending U.S. troops to Ukraine, only 36% of Democrats, 23% of Republicans, and 26% of Independent voters are in favor.

CHINA-TAIWAN:

A 2024 Pew Research poll found that 81% of Americans view China unfavorably.
According to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, most Americans (62%) believe that the US-Taiwan relationship does more to strengthen national security, while 67% of Democrats, 58% of Independents, and 62% of Republicans agree.
If China were to invade Taiwan, the same report shows that:
- 72% of Americans would support imposing economic and diplomatic sanctions on China.
- 74% would support airlifting medical supplies and food to Taiwan.
- 59% would support providing additional arms to Taiwan.
- And 36% would support sending additional U.S. troops to Taiwan.

See more examples of common ground on issues where you might not expect to find it:

Clare Ashcraft is the Bridging & Bias Assistant at AllSides. She has a Center bias.

This piece was reviewed by Managing Editor Henry A. Brechter (Center bias), News Research Assistant Ethan Horowitz(Lean Right Bias) and Daily News Editor Joseph D. Ratliff (Lean Left bias)

Common Ground,Foreign Policy,World,Bipartisanship