Many people have the impression that polls produce highly discrepant findings that simply do not add up. However scholars of public opinion have found that by organizing public opinion research across studies and carefully reading the wording of questions there is actually a coherent pattern of majority opinion behind numerous poll results—including ones which on the surface may appear contradictory.

Below is a summary of the main findings of the analysis with links to those sections of the digest where the poll findings are examined.

A very strong majority supports US engagement in the world and rejects the idea that the US should take a more isolationist stance. However strong and growing majorities show dissatisfaction with key aspects of the current US role in the world and see it as destabilizing. A majority supports US military bases on the soil of traditional US allies, though support for US military presence in the Middle East has become quite soft.