The global image of the U.S. may not be as weak as Americans think, but there's room to improve.
The country ranks No. 2 in terms of political influence, following Russia, and No. 2 in terms of economic influence, after China.Schwalbach and millions of other Americans have grown increasingly worried about how the United States is perceived in the world. In 2013, for the first time in surveys dating back nearly 40 years, a majority, or 53 percent, of Americans believed the U.S. played a less important and powerful role as a world leader than it did a decade earlier, according to research conducted by Pew Research Center and the Council on Foreign Relations. Even more Americans – 70 percent – said the U.S. was less respected than in the past.
That could very well be the case, but even if so, the decline in U.S. power and influence is not likely as precipitous as many in the country imagine. While America's global influence is scientifically impossible to measure and track over time, several perception-based studies suggest that U.S. global leverage is still strong.
"Americans are widely of the view that our country has lost respect and influence in the world," says Michael Dimock, president of the Pew Research Center. "We think that the combination of events, leadership and the growth of other powers in the world have weakened our positions. But when you ask around the world, you find that loss of respect is probably not anywhere near as steep – and certainly not as uniform – as I think Americans suspect it is. In general America is viewed positively in more parts of the world than negatively."
The United States is still the world's superpower, at least for now, experts say. And that's reflected in the 2016 Best Countries rankings. The U.S. ranks No. 1 in power and No. 1 in terms of leadership – two powerful indicators of its global standing. But there is evidence that other nations are nipping at its heels. The country ranks No. 2 in terms of political influence, following Russia, and No. 2 in terms of economic influence, after China.
In fact, according to Pew surveys, most people in the world believe China is on track to replace the U.S. as the world's superpower. China ranks No. 17 overall in the Best Countries rankings.
"There was much talk during the 20th century that that was the American century," says Philip Seib, a professor of journalism and public diplomacy at the University of Southern California. "I would call the 21st century everybody's century. There has been a considerable leveling of the playing field. The U.S. is still by far the most powerful nation – certainly militarily there is no comparison. But I think if there was a unipolar moment that has passed."
http://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2016-01-20/what-country-is-no-1-not-the-us
