Chandigarh: The image of the United States (US) as the so-called indispensable global power is rapidly eroding, as international surveys and perception studies point to a steady decline in trust in its leadership, reliability and strategic consistency. For decades after the Second World War, through the Cold War era that followed, and until recently, the US was widely regarded as the principal guarantor of what passed for the liberal international order, as well as the dominant financial, political, military and moral superpower in global affairs.That standing is now under visible strain amid perceptions of policy volatility, inward-looking nationalism and an increasingly transactional approach to commercial, economic, diplomatic and military commitments, as reflected by a broad range of global polling and survey-based indices. The latest of these, released on May 8 – the Democracy Perception Index (DPI) 2026 executed by the Denmark-based Alliance of Democracies Foundation – awarded the US a net perception score of -16%, placing it even below both Russia (-11%) and China (+7%) for the second consecutive year.In this survey, China emerged as the only country among the three with a positive net score.Other surveys conducted by the Pew Research Centre in Washington, DC, Edelman Data and Intelligence (DxI) in New York, and the UK’s BBC World Service have similarly recorded declining confidence in the US’s leadership. And, despite differences in methodology, sample size and question framing, all four surveys collectively show that the era of unquestioned US dominance in global influence is steadily breaking down.Increasingly, Washington is less regarded as the world’s default political and strategic anchor, alongside continued centrality in financial systems, integration in technological ecosystems and commercial and trade relationships. Yet, across these surveys, this decline is not universal, with the US still retaining strong credibility in Asia – particularly Japan, South Korea and India – a result anchored in defence cooperation and security alignments.China, Russia improve image and standingCorrespondingly, China’s global standing has risen significantly across Africa, East and Southeast Asia and parts of Latin America through infrastructure investment, trade and assorted economic engagement. However, in contrast, Western democracies remain structurally sceptical of China, where concerns over governance systems, technological reach and strategic intent tend to dominate perceptions.Even Russia’s image, according to these surveys, is not cohesive, but geographically segmented and strategically conditional. Despite being deeply distrusted across Europe, it has retained or expanded pockets of influence across parts of Asia, Africa and the post-Soviet bloc of countries, primarily through historical ties, energy cooperation and materiel linkages.Conducted by the independent polling firm Nira Data, the Denmark-based DPI 2026 report surveyed 94,146 respondents across 98 countries, making it one of the most comprehensive global assessments of public perceptions of democracy and global power, and leadership structures in recent days.Respondents evaluated countries on a spectrum from -100% (most negative perception) to +100% (most positive), allowing for fine-grained measurement of global sentiment. Within this framework, the US decline is especially pronounced, with its net perception falling from +22% just two years ago to -16% in 2026 – one of the steepest reversals recorded for any major power in the index’s history since 2019.Why America is falling behindAnalysts link much of this shift to the foreign policy orientation associated with President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda, including strained relations with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) allies, high tariff measures affecting both partners and competitors, and reductions in foreign aid projects – particularly to strategic recipients like Ukraine.Collectively, these policies have deepened perceptions of a more unilateral and inward-looking America, driven increasingly by domestic political and economic priorities rather than multilateral cooperation, marking a sharp departure from the stabilising, alliance-led leadership that long defined Washington’s post-Second World War order.Such negative perceptions were further reinforced by wider policy signals, including Trump’s threats to unilaterally seize Greenland and continuing tariff disputes with key allies. Together, these developments have badly strained Washington’s ties with Europe, long the fulcrum of the US-led alliance structure, where many governments are increasingly questioning American reliability in managing regional security and economic coordination.Similar patterns are visible across Latin America, where perceptions of US inconsistency are eroding confidence in sustained engagement from Washington. The picture, however, is more mixed in Asia, where countries such as Japan, South Korea and India continue to view the US positively, largely due to security alignments, defence cooperation and shared strategic interests, according to the DPI.Congruently, findings by the Pew Research Centre for its Global Attitudes Project 2025-26, which surveyed 40,000-50,000 respondents across 40-50 countries, revealed a marked decline in US favourability, particularly in Western Europe, where positive views of Washington in Germany, France, and the UK have fallen below 40%, down from over 60% a decade earlier.The Edelman Trust Barometer 2026, on the other hand, surveyed around 38,000 respondents across 32 countries, focusing on trust in government, business, media, and perceptions of ethical leadership. It found a broad decline in trust in the US as an ethical global leader, especially in Europe and Latin America, where concerns centred on inconsistent foreign policy and perceived self-interest.The BBC World Service Global Poll 2025, for its part, drew on responses from around 35,000 people across 33 countries to measure perceptions of global leadership, influence and contributions to international peace and stability. Its conclusions too showed a decline in US standing as a global stabilising force, with fewer respondents identifying it as the leading guarantor of peace, particularly in Europe and parts of Asia.Consequently, what these surveys point to is not a short-term shift, but a deeper reorganisation of global power that is presently underway. And though the post-Cold War system built around US leadership, alliance networks such as NATO, and dollar dominance will not disappear anytime soon, countries across the world are increasingly acting more independently and becoming less inclined to automatically align with Washington’s policies and positions as they once did.Global power is increasingly fragmentedThis shift is already visible in the growing willingness of states to diversify strategic partnerships, expand regional alignments, and pursue more transactional foreign policies driven by national interest rather than bloc loyalty. The result is an international system becoming more fragmented, competitive, and less centred around any single power, particularly the US.In all this turbulence, China’s rapid rise is accelerating this transition, though not by replacing the US as a singular global leader. Instead, Beijing is constructing parallel systems of trade, finance, currency settlement, investment, and infrastructure that increasingly function outside traditional Western frameworks. Russia, meanwhile, appears set to remain a more limited power – less a global centre of influence than a disruptive force that thrives on fragmentation and geopolitical division.At the same time, a major underlying shift is also taking place in the global financial system. For now, the US dollar remains dominant, but an increasing number of countries are experimenting with local currency trade, bilateral swap arrangements, and alternative payment systems. This does not mean the dollar will be replaced anytime soon, but its once-exclusive position is steadily beginning to weaken.Moreover, the growing instability in West Asia, disruptions in oil flows and the wider US-Israel and Iran conflict have further exposed the vulnerabilities of the long-standing petrodollar system that underpinned much of America’s Post-WW2 financial dominance. Some analysts even argue that the conflict could accelerate moves towards alternative energy settlement mechanisms and non-dollar trade arrangements, especially across parts of Asia and the Global South. But that is yet another story unfolding in parallel.Overall, however, the direction is increasingly clear: global power is becoming more diffuse, less predictable, and more regionalised. Instead of a single dominant power shaping the international system, the world appears to be moving towards a more fragmented order in which influence is shared, contested and constantly shifting between multiple centres of power, at times simultaneously.