US thinktank finds those in western countries, including Australia, rank Islamic State as the world’s greatest threat, in contrast to Africa and Latin America

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Australians perceive Islamic State (Isis) as being the greatest threat to global security ahead of climate change and economic instability, according to a survey from a major independent thinktank in the US.

Between March and May, the Pew Research Center surveyed 45,435 people aged 18 and above from 40 countries, including 1,004 Australians.

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Participants were asked to respond yes or no to whether they were “very concerned”, “somewhat concerned”, “not too concerned” or “not at all concerned” by a list of six issues; climate change, global economic instability, Isis, Iran’s nuclear program, cyber-attacks, tensions with Russia, and territorial disputes with China.

Analysed together, climate change emerged as the greatest concern overall, with 19 of those in the countries surveyed citing it as their biggest worry.

But this was not the case in Australia, where a majority (69%) said they were “very concerned” by Isis, followed by Iran’s nuclear weapons program (38%, though this may change given the historic deal just struck by world leaders with Iran). Climate change ranked equal third with cyber attacks, at 37%.

These results were echoed in the Asia-Pacific generally, with Isis emerging as the greatest concern in the region (45%) followed by Iran (44%).

Anxiety about climate change was highest in Latin America (61%) and Africa (59%), while Europe, the Middle East and the US shared Australia’s perception of Isis being the greater global threat. Unsurprisingly, concern about Isis was highest in countries neighbouring Iraq and Syria.

Dr Denis Dragovic, an international development expert who has researched conflict in the Middle East and Isis, said he was not surprised by the Australian results.

“The challenge that we face in addressing Islamic State is that it has not shown any interest in abiding with an international system of conventions, and it has an ideology that is intent on killing people without any concerns for the sanctity of life.

“The difference between Islamic State and past authoritarian regimes, like Hitler, Stalin and others, is that it doesn’t have access to resources as yet. But it is not beyond belief that they may gain access to these resources.”

Those countries that listed Isis as a stronger threat were also those whose governments had taken some action against them, either through military involvement, additional humanitarian assistance, or increased financial sanctions, he said.

“It’s hard to say in the context of this survey whether the threat felt by the people drove politicians to act or the actions subsequently mobilised people’s fears,” Dragovic said.