https://www.economist.com/united-states/2022/04/02/americans-views-on-the-war-reveal-a-striking-generational-divide

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[                    ]
United StatesApr 2nd 2022 edition

Public opinion
Americans' views on the war reveal a striking generational divide

Memories of the cold war may be part of the explanation

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Apr 2nd 2022

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IN THE MONTH since Russia invaded Ukraine, Joe Biden has called
Vladimir Putin a "war criminal" and a "butcher". New polling from
YouGov/ The Economist suggests that younger Americans are far more
equivocal in their views on Russia and the war.

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Among some 1,500 people polled between March 19th and 22nd, 73% said
they sympathise more with Ukraine than with Russia. Yet this
disguises a big generational gap. Whereas 92% of those aged 65 and
over said they sympathise more with Ukraine, just 56% of those aged
18-29 did--a difference of 36 percentage points.

Younger Americans are also less bothered about the war's outcome:
barely half of those under 30 said they care who wins, compared with
90% of those over 65. And although Antony Blinken, America's
secretary of state, has formally declared that Mr Putin is
deliberately targeting civilians, younger Americans are not so sure.
Just 47% of under-30s said Russia was targeting civilians
intentionally. In contrast, 91% of older Americans agree with Mr
Blinken.

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YouGov/ The Economist also conducted polls in France and Britain
during the fourth week of March, and there, too, a generational gap
exists--though a smaller one. What might explain it?

One possible reason is that, on average, younger people tend to be
less engaged in politics. Younger people who said they were
interested in politics were more sympathetic to Ukraine than their
less-engaged peers. But the gap between well-informed older Americans
and well-informed younger Americans is still wide, at 28 points, so
that can be only part of the story.

Perhaps the war seems distant to young Americans disillusioned by
faraway conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Historical fears of Russia
may play a role, too. Americans 65 and older came of age during the
cold war. Those aged under 30 were born after 1992, when the Soviet
Union had collapsed. Yesteryear's experience may still colour today's
views.

For exclusive insight and reading recommendations from our
correspondents in America, sign up to Checks and Balance, our weekly
newsletter.

This article appeared in the United States section of the print
edition under the headline "Older and wiser?"

Reuse this contentThe Trust Project

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