1st SURVEY | Perceptions on Foreign Policy and National Security (2020)

The events experienced in recent months, both nationally and globally, have broadly demonstrat- ed that we are currently facing a volatile, uncer- tain, complex and ambiguous reality. Sometimes, it seems as if we have not made it out of one crisis before entering another; from the social upris- ing to the global pandemic, followed by a severe economic crisis and what is to come. The future is coming too soon.

Faced with this challenging context, we at Ath- enaLab wanted to learn about the perceptions and concerns of the general population and experts on Chile’s foreign policy and national security. Basical- ly, obtaining information that serves as an input for possible courses of action that will help the coun- try to find a new position in the international field (or reestablish its position) and adopt measures to better protect its inhabitants. As a whole, this should help lay the foundations of a shared and recognized national aspiration.

For those of us who have spent decades in the field of international relations, security and de- fence, it is not common to have instruments that inquire precisely about these matters, which can

be seen and felt as a little distant, but are import- ant nonetheless. We consider that this survey con- ducted for AthenaLab by Ipsos Chile, an interna- tional, independent entity dedicated to finding out people’s opinions through surveys, may in fact be an important tool in this regard due to its novelty. By making it available to the public, we hope it will serve many other investigations.

The first part of the document presents the main findings that our team obtained from their inter- pretation of the survey. The following sections contain an analysis of the results in the fields of foreign policy, security and defence, after the pre- sentation of each question. We also asked exter- nal personalities their opinions on specific aspects to enrich the perspectives. Finally, the projections are shown to allow cross-checking of information. The survey methodology is presented in an annex, which concludes the report.