Filter content by

UN Envoy to Libya proposes a new initiative, what do Libyans want?

UN Envoy to Libya proposes a new initiative, what do Libyans want?

Following months of political deadlock, a new political body is in the making to shake up Libya’s political impasse. On February 27, 2023, UN special envoy to Libya, Abdullah Bathily, told the UN Security Council he plans “to establish a High-level Steering Panel for Libya.” Bathily’s plan aims to facilitate the organization of elections, both legislative and presidential in the…

As great power competition in the Middle East heats up, polling data shows a complex picture of popular attitudes

As great power competition in the Middle East heats up, polling data shows a complex picture of popular attitudes

This piece is part of a four-part series published by the Middle East Institute in cooperation with Arab Barometer analyzing the results of the seventh wave of the Arab Barometer surveys. Apart from Europe and the South China Sea region, the Middle East and North Africa is one of the epicenters for what the U.S. has termed “great power competition” especially between the…

Citizen priorities on the environment and climate change in MENA

Citizen priorities on the environment and climate change in MENA

This piece is part of a four-part series published by the Middle East Institute in cooperation with Arab Barometer analyzing the results of the seventh wave of the Arab Barometer surveys.   The results of the seventh wave survey from Arab Barometer, a non-partisan research network that provides insight into Arab citizen views, shed light on regional perspectives on issues of climate change, water resources,…

Gender gaps in MENA remain stubbornly entrenched, despite positive trends

Gender gaps in MENA remain stubbornly entrenched, despite positive trends

This piece is part of a four-part series published by the Middle East Institute in cooperation with Arab Barometer analyzing the results of the seventh wave of the Arab Barometer surveys. Key findings from the latest Arab Barometer survey, its seventh wave, reveal that clear majorities in the 12 countries in which the survey was conducted still hold traditional views on gender norms. Despite…

Citizens’ views on Egypt’s economic woes

Citizens’ views on Egypt’s economic woes

Egypt’s National Nutrition Institute (NNI) recent recommendation to “eat chicken feet” as a budget-friendly form of protein animated pundits and the public this past December 2022. The attempt to help citizens navigate increasingly dire economic conditions was lambasted and ridiculed. The declaration, which was put forward earnestly,  highlighted just how grim Egypt’s predicament had become. Fielded 11 months before the…

Support for a two-state solution among Palestinians and Israelis declines

Support for a two-state solution among Palestinians and Israelis declines

Support for a two-state solution among Palestinians and Israelis declines to just one-third on each side, along with growing opposition to the detailed items of a permanent peace agreement for implementing a two-state solution. Slightly more Israeli Jews support one unequal state under Israeli rule than the two-state solution; but both publics still prefer two states to any other democratic…

Libyans want citizenship for children of women married to foreigners

Libyans want citizenship for children of women married to foreigners

On October 19, 2022, the Government of National Unity (GNU) in Libya decreed that children of Libyan women married to foreigners must enjoy the same rights as Libyan citizens, including access to free healthcare and education inside the country and acceptance at Libyan schools abroad. The decree also waived visa requirement for the group. Children of Libyan women married to…