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Each month Chatham House asks a series of questions on current international news stories. This enables us to engage with our online audience on a broad range of topical issues.

Please vote in our current poll on the right of this page.

Below is a selection of some of our past polls. Please note the polls do not reflect the views of Chatham House.

August 2010

Is Pakistan a bigger international security threat than Afghanistan?
Yes 58%
No 30%
Don't know 12%

June 2010

Are global naval capacities crucial to great power status?
Yes 68%
No 27%
Don't know 5%

Can the UK remain in the top league of the world's most competitive economies?
Yes 44%
No 45%
Don't know 11%

'Investment not humanitarianism will lead to growth in Africa.' Do you agree?
Yes 72%
No 21%
Don't know 7%

May 2010

Should Thailand's government be doing more to resolve the crisis?
Yes 68%
No 12%
Don't know 20%

April 2010

Will the outcome of the UK election affect UK foreign policy?
Yes 63%
No 33%
Don't know 4%

Do nuclear weapons make the world a safer place?
Yes 35%
No 60%
Don't know 5%

March 2010

Within 20 years, the combined size of the BRIC economies will equal those of the US and EU together.' Do you agree?
Yes 59%
No 35%
Don't know 6%

Should British foreign policy be articulated in conjunction with the EU?
Yes 57%
No 41%
Don't know 1%

February 2010

Should other EU member states bailout Greece?
Yes 44%
No 42%
Don't know 14%

'There isn't enough focus on development in Afghanistan'. Do you agree?
Yes 70%
No 19%
Don't know 11%

January 2010

Has President Obama improved America's image abroad?
Yes 71%
No 26%
Don't kow 3%

Will the price of oil reach $100 a barrel in 2010?
Yes 61%
No 34%
Don't know 5%

December 2009

Will a troop surge quell the insurgency in Afghanistan?
Yes 26%
No 63%
Don't know 11%

November 2009

Will the EU's recent appointments make the EU more effective internationally?
Yes 21%
No 64%
Don't know 15%

Economic disparity between east and west in Germany still exists. Is Germany truly united?
Yes 47%
No 37%
Don't know 16%

Will Brazil be a 'superpower' in the future?
Yes 56%
No 34%
Don't know 10%

October 2009

Can Iran be dissuaded from developing a nuclear weapons capability?
Yes 23%
No 70%
Don't know 7%

Does President Obama deserve the Nobel Peace Prize?
Yes 23%
No 72%
Don't know 5%

Should Britain withdraw its troops from Afghanistan?
Yes 38%
No 58%
Don't know 4%

September 2009

President Obama says the war in Afghanistan is a necessity and not a choice. Do you agree?
Yes 34%
No 57%
Don't know 9%

August 2009

Are fears over Asian oil companies' thrust into Africa 'highly exaggerated'?
Yes 45%
No 37%
Don't know 18%

Are settlements now the main obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations?
Yes 52%
No 42%
Don't know 6%

July 2009

Is the internet becoming more useful as a state tool to monitor and control citizens than it is to empower them?
Yes 46%
No 48%
Don't know 6%

Will the conflict in Afghanistan become 'another Vietnam'?
Yes 44%
No 49%
Don't know 7%

Should the British defence budget be constrained at a time of heightened budgetary pressure?
Yes 41%
No 49%
Don't know 10%

June 2009

Will Iran's election turmoil scupper plans for US-Iranian engagement?
Yes 47%
No 42%
Don't know 11%

Iran Election: 'The standoff between Iran and the West will continue'. Do you agree?
Yes 75%
No 15%
Don't know 10%

International drug policy should focus on reducing demand for illegal drugs in consumer countries rather than restricting supply. Do you agree?
Yes 66%
No 29%
Don't know 5%

May 2009

Should the UN have done more to end the conflict in Sri Lanka?
Yes 62%
No 28%
Don't know 10%

The West has been slow to respond to challenges posed by new adversaries'. Do you agree?
Yes 65%
No 26%
Don't know 9%

Was Pakistan right to shift from a diplomatic to a military solution against the Taliban?
Yes 55%
No 36%
Don't know 9%

April 2009

Is swine flu receiving too much attention?
Yes 70%
No 20%
Don't know 10%

Obama's 100 Days: Is America ready to lead again?
Yes 49%
No 41%
Don't know 10%

Should CIA agents be prosecuted over controversial interrogation tactics used under President Bush's administration?
Yes 51%
No 42%
Don't know 7%

Is NATO still relevant?
Yes 54%
No 39%
Don't know 7%

March 2009

Should Britain offer to give up its single seat on the IMF?
Yes 37%
No 54%
Don't know 9%

Will investment in global health decline as a result of the ongoing economic crisis?
Yes 74%
No 19%
Don't know 7%

February 2009

The US needs to focus less on its 'opponents' and more on supporting its allies. Do you agree?
Yes 58%
No 32%
Don't know 10%

Can Zimbabwe's new unity government bring an end to the humanitarian crisis?
Yes 12%
No 78%
Don't know 10%

January 2009

The Western diet must change to avert a global food supply crisis'. Do you agree?
Yes 62%
No 35%
Don't know 3%

Will President George Bush's foreign policies be vindicated over time?
Yes 21%
No 72%
Don't know 7%

Should Israel negotiate with Hamas?
Yes 73%
No 22%
Don't know 5%

December 2008

Is it likely that President-elect Obama will live up to expectations?
Yes 35%
No 56%
Don't know 9%

'The Obama administration will achieve a breakthrough in US relations with Iran.' Do you agree?
Yes 49%
No 38%
Don't know 13%

Is it time for Britain to join the Euro?
Yes 47%
No 43%
Don't know 11%

Does the media inadvertently risk turning the Mumbai terrorists into celebrities?
Yes 58%
No 37%
Don't know 5%

November 2008

Will the global economic downturn put a temporary brake on climate action?
Yes 67%
No 27%
Don't know 6%

Does the extension of the Russian presidential term from 4 to 6 years pave the way for an imminent return to the presidency for Vladimir Putin?
Yes 66%
No 21%
Don't know 13%

Should Britain withdraw troops from Afghanistan?
Yes 38%
No 54%
Don't know 8%

Who would you vote for in the US election?
Barack Obama 81%
John McCain 12%
Abstain 7%

October 2008

Will the decline in the west's economic power significantly reduce humanitarian interventions?
Yes 74%
No 19%
Don't know 7%

In the long-term will the Beijing Olympics have had the effect of enhancing China's soft-power?
Yes 53%
No 39%
Don't know 8%

The economic crisis has reached such a level that no region will remain immune. Do you agree?
Yes 78%
No 16%
Don't know 6%

The international market in conventional weapons has so far proved resistant to effective regulation. Could a new UN treaty succeed in tackling the arms trade?
Yes 20%
No 73%
Don't know 7%

September 2008

Will Britain best serve its long-term national economic interest by keeping its own currency?
Yes 48%
No 40%
Don't know 12%

'The political and security situation in Pakistan poses a greater threat to the West than that in Afghanistan or Iraq.' Do you agree?
Yes 62%
No 30%
Don't know 8%

'Economic concerns above foreign policy will be the deciding factor of the US presidential election.' Do you agree?
Yes 70%
No 27%
Don't know 3%

Will Condoleezza Rice's visit to North Africa help leave a positive international legacy for the Bush administration?
Yes 22%
No 73%
Don't know 5%

August 2008

Will the conflict with Georgia mark a turning point in Russia's relations with the West?
Yes 66%
No 30%
Don't know 3%

'The objective of making the Universal Declaration of Human Rights truly universal is simply utopian.' Do you agree?
Yes 42%
No 54%
Don't know 4%

July 2008

Are Europeans over-excited about the prospect of a Barack Obama presidency?
Yes 62%
No 24%
Don't know 14%

Is the Mediterranean Union one regional arrangement too many?
Yes 60%
No 30%
Don't know 10%

June 2008

Is the crisis in Zimbabwe receiving too much attention in Britain?
Yes 41%
No 56%
Don't know 4%

'European leaders should accept that the Lisbon Treaty is 'dead''. Do you agree?
Yes 57%
No 36%
Don't know 7%

Do you think the price of oil will reach $200 a barrel in 2008?
Yes 52%
No 39%
Don't know 9%

May 2008

'Current concerns about future food supply are overstated and temporary.' Do you agree?
Yes 32%
No 58%
Don't know 10%

Should the next US president negotiate with 'terrorists and radicals'?
Yes 59%
No 35%
Don't know 6%

Are the Arab states doing enough to support the humanitarian needs of the Palestinians?
Yes 10%
No 78%
Don't know 12%

April 2008

As Gordon Brown discusses economic woes on both sides of the Atlantic, is Britain really better placed than the US to weather the credit crunch?
Yes 51%
No 41%
Don't know 8%

Do you agree that more farmland should be used to grow crops for fuel?
Yes 21%
No 75%
Don't know 4%

March 2008

Will the 2008 Olympics change the nature of China's engagement with the world in the long-term?
Yes 25%
No 61%
Don't know 14%

Is NATO's mission in Afghanistan succeeding?
Yes 22%
No 63%
Don't Know 15%

February 2008

If worldwide emissions from road transport are six times higher than those from air transport are we unfairly blaming the airlines for climate change?
Yes 55%
No 35%
Don't know 10%