Over Half of Indians Frown Upon US Dollar Hegemony: Survey

Around 50 percent of Indians view the dominance of US dollar (USD) unfavourably, a new public survey conducted in middle-powers India, Brazil, South Africa and Germany has found.

The Körber Emerging Middle Powers Report 2024 has been jointly published by Indian think tank Gateway House, German foundation Körber-Stiftung, the BRICS Policy Centre and the South African Institute for International Affairs.

India, Brazil and South Africa are major economies of Global South and are also part of a trilateral mechanism known as IBSA.

The survey found that negative views of about USD dominance were the highest in Brazil, where 81 percent of respondents viewed it unfavourably.

Around 63 percent of polled respondents viewed USD dominance unfavourably in South Africa, while perceptions about US dollar remained largely favourable in Germany.

BRICS Expansion

Around 67 percent of Indians believe that expansion of BRICS is a positive development in global affairs, the highest among all the four nations.

Support for BRICS expansion stood at 62 and 57 percent in South Africa and Brazil respectively.

Meanwhile, more than half of respondents in Germany viewed the expansion of the Global South grouping in negative light.

Permanent UN Security Council Seat

Support for a permanent United Nations (UN) Security Council seat with veto power was the highest in India, where over 50 percent of the respondents backed the idea.

Around 30 percent of the respondents in Brazil and South Africa wanted their governments to push for a permanent UNSC seat with veto power, while only 20 percent of Germans favoured the prospect.

However, the support for a "status quo" at the UNSC remained significantly low in all the four countries.

Ukraine Conflict

Barring the exception of Germany which has aided Ukraine with billions of dollars of military aid, support for Ukraine in IBSA nations was significantly low.

Only five percent of Indian respondents believe that Ukraine conflict represents the "most challenging foreign policy" matter for the country, as compared to 30 percent in Germany.

Significantly, for Indians, New Delhi's relationship with Beijing represents the most challenging foreign policy issue, being backed by almost half of the survey respondents.

Nearly 50 percent of Indian respondents, as well as between 60 to 70 percent of people polled in South Africa and Brazil back a "mediation" to end the Ukraine conflict.

On the other hand, support for mediation was around 10 percent in Germany.

None of the IBSA nations prefer taking sides on the Ukraine issue, with support for Ukraine being the lowest in India.

Ukraine Conflict

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