The soft power cost of COVID-19 in OECD countries: a lose–lose outcome for China and the United States

One way in which many scholars of public opinion have operationalized a country’s soft power abroad is to measure how favorably that country is viewed by people in foreign countries. While earlier research has demonstrated the mechanisms and factors correlated with how foreigners perceive a country, much less is known about how sudden and unexpected global events may impact how favorably citizens of different countries view another country. Analyzing recent Pew Global Attitudes Survey data, we assess how the COVID-19 pandemic changed public opinions of China and the United States—with Russia as a reference—in 12 OECD countries. Our analysis reveals that COVID-19 led to a decline in favorability toward both the US and China—the ‘soft power cost’ of COVID-19. While the cost is larger for China than for the US in most countries, we observe exceptions in Germany, Italy, and South Korea. We also explore the heterogeneity of the soft power cost by respondents’ individual attributes and other attitudes such as how COVID-19 impacted their lives.