While 84% of Americans fear a terrorist attack on the US in
the near future, only 27% say their country is well prepared
to handle the situation.
A recent Synovate survey across 13 markets confirmed that
citizens of countries which have been attacked in the past
worry more about a possible recurrence.
The fear is highest in the UK, which was jolted by the public
transport bombings in July. Nine out of 10 UK respondents said
they expect another terrorist incident, the highest among all
markets which took part in the study.
A little over 9,000 respondents were surveyed in the US, UK,
Netherlands, France, Germany, Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia, Poland,
Hong Kong, India, Indonesia and Singapore.
*The study was conducted in September and October, before the
Bali and New Delhi bombings.
Do you think your country will be the target of a terrorist attack in the near future?
In the survey, 77% of UK respondents said they don't feel as
safe as they used to, followed by 66% of Americans and 64% of
Germans. "It is clear that the London bombings have heightened
fears of another attack in the near future," notes Chris
Dubreuil, research director at Synovate ViewsNet UK. "As a
result, the UK public do not feel as safe as they used to and
have changed their behaviour, heeding the government's message
of vigilance."
Six out of 10 French feel similarly unsettled. "The fact that
the findings show 84% of French people anticipate a domestic
terrorist attack is unsurprising," comments Stephane Courqueux,
managing director of Synovate's Paris office. "The UK and Spain
have seen attacks over the past 18 months – it may only
be a matter of time until we see something similar on French
soil."
This view is mirrored on the other side of the Atlantic.
"Americans continue to be on their collective guard,
though they do claim to have made some lifestyle changes to
be better prepared for an attack," says Larry Levin,
head of the Synovate Americas marketing and client relationship
team. "The terror of 9/11, coupled with the bombings in
London this summer, have led the vast majority of Americans
to agree that their country is susceptible to another violent
attack. Importantly, only one in four Americans believe we
are ready to respond."
In other countries where the fear of a terrorist strike is high,
citizens seem to feel more confident about the preparedness of
their countries to respond. Eighty-two per cent of Indian
respondents – people who have lived through the attack
on the Indian Parliament four years ago, decade-long strikes
on holy shrines and assorted bomb blasts – still fear a
repeat incident, yet three-quarters said their country could
handle it.
"Globally, major initiatives to clamp down on terrorism
have been taken," says Alok Shanker, managing director of
Synovate in India. "India's security forces have also
brought down the number of terrorist incidents. The progress
in the peace process with neighbours as well as belief in
India's military strength have also increased confidence among
Indians".
These feelings of confidence would surely have dissipated as a
result of the 29 October 2005 bombings in New Delhi.
As Brahma Chellaney noted in today's Wall Street Journal
Asia (31 October 2005), "India is responding typically to
the latest horror - with brave words that can do little to
hide its lack of both a coherent counterterrorism strategy
and the political will to go beyond mere reprobation."
Do you think your country is well prepared to respond to a terrorist attack?
The sad legacy of terrorism is the change in behaviour to cope
with a perceived unknown threat. A majority of UK and Indonesian
respondents – 60% and 80% respectively – said they
now look twice at other passengers on public transport. Roughly
a third of respondents in these markets said they have minimised
or stopped taking public transport altogether.
The way terrorism, just like personal tragedy, changes people's
lives forever is highlighted by the heightened sense of carpe
diem. Six out of 10 Americans said they live more for today
knowing anything could happen tomorrow. Indonesia was the
highest among all markets surveyed at 73%, but Synovate
Indonesia managing director Robby Susatyo says this is
"a reflection of the fatalistic attitude of people
who live in poverty, regardless of terrorism."
Do you agree with the following statements?
At the other end of the spectrum is Hong Kong. Despite being a
major financial centre and, arguably, a potentially attractive
target for terrorism, only 12% of respondents think it could
ever be attacked. Seventy-eight per cent have not made any
changes in their behaviour at all as they don't perceive any
threat.
"We don't have many highly politicised ethnic minority groups
here," observes Scott Lee, a Synovate director based in
Hong Kong. "It's generally very easy to control and safe.
Not everyone feels safe though, and I suspect this may be because
of SARS and bird flu. Hong Kong probably worries more about disease
than political troubles."
