ALBANY — In a survey released Friday, 82 percent of upstate New Yorkers said conditions around the world have gotten worse "over the past couple of years." And upstaters are evenly divided as to whether "things around the world" will have improved or gotten worse in the next two years.

The Siena Research Institute's latest Global Issues Poll asked New Yorkers for their views on a number of issues, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, genocide in Darfur, the United Nations and China's treatment of Tibet.

The results highlight just how differently the supporters of presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama, as well as undecided voters, view world affairs.

"Obama voters, McCain voters, they just do not see Iraq, Iran and issues like offshore drilling and Cuba the same way," said Donald Levy, SRI's director, in a press release. "In each case, the current 25 percent of voters that are undecided on the presidential race fall between McCain and Obama's supporters on issues. On Iraq, the undecideds are closer to the Obama backers; on offshore drilling and Cuba, they lean towards the McCain supporters."

In some cases, upstaters rejected policies favored by President George W. Bush.

Sixty-one percent of upstaters surveyed said the United States should not stay in Iraq until that nation can govern itself "no matter how long it takes," while 30 percent said U.S. forces should remain there. Fifty-seven percent said a U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq should begin "immediately" with only a small force remaining there in 18 months, while 35 percent disagreed.

Likewise, 58 percent of upstaters favored direct talks, without precondition, with Iran, compared to 25 percent who disagreed with the idea.

Only 13 percent of upstate voters polled favored an American foreign policy that "should attempt to actively spread democracy to nations and peoples around the world, even if it requires military force," while 79 percent opposed such a policy.

Forty-six percent of upstaters agreed that "Radical Islamic fundamentalism is the greatest danger our country faces in the world," versus 37 percent who disagreed. Similarly, 54 percent disagreed with the idea that "It would be wise to be concerned more about global warming than about terrorists like al-Qaida," while 30 percent agreed.

But 49 percent said the U.S. should concentrate on fighting disease and hunger rather that the Iraq and Afghan wars, while 32 percent saw the wars as more important.

Regarding drilling for oil in offshore American waters, three-quarters of upstaters favored the idea while 19 percent opposed it.

"Although most New Yorkers, especially John McCain's supporters, believe it is wiser to be more concerned about al-Qaida than global warming, a majority, especially Barack Obama's voters, would rather devote resources to fighting hunger and disease around the world than concentrate on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," Mr. Levy said.

"McCain's supporters, by more than 3 to 1, agree that radical Islamic fundamentalism is the greatest danger our country faces in world today, but only 35 percent of Obama's backers feel the same way," he continued. "And although a plurality of all New Yorkers, 42 percent to 35 percent, feel that the war in Afghanistan is more a threat to Americans than the war in Iraq and that we should increase our military forces in Afghanistan, there is no real difference between Obama's and McCain's supporters on this issue."

If the presidential election were held today, 37 percent of upstaters would vote for Mr. Obama, a Democrat, and 27 percent would choose Mr. McCain, a Republican, with 4 percent opting for independent Ralph Nader and 3 percent selecting Libertarian Bob Barr. Twenty-nine percent remain undecided.

Thirty-six percent of upstaters polled identified themselves as Republicans, 33 percent as Democrats and 26 percent as independent.

Seventy percent of upstaters agreed with this statement: "In most cases, I support the rights of indigenous, or native, peoples in their struggles against those governments that deny them in their quest for autonomy." Only 8 percent disagreed.

The telephone survey was conducted July 17 to 29 with 671 registered voters in New York state. Its margin of error is plus-or-minus 3.8 percentage points. It did not directly break down the differences between McCain and Obama supporters in the north country.