Two decades after the US waged war on Iraq, the political demands and aspirations of the Iraqi people remain unfulfilled under a political system that was designed to fail The US invasion of Iraq succeeded in toppling the Baathist regime of President Saddam Hussein, but 20 years on, it clearly failed to achieve its proclaimed goal of bringing freedom, security, democracy, and prosperity to Iraq and its…
Fighting racism in Tunisia 1 bag of groceries at a time
Ordinary Tunisians are volunteering to help sub-Saharan African residents who are being persecuted. They say the issues behind the current crisis — racism and migration — should have been tackled long ago. In a cobbled lane in the Tunisian capital, canvas has been fixed to the white walls of a nearby garden to form shelters. Here and there, you also…
Confounding and confirming expectations on the “care economy” in MENA
Press Release Key findings from Salma Al-Shami and Maitha AlSuwaidi‘s new blog: -Arab Barometer findings from 12 countries surveyed in the seventh wave (2021-2022) partially confound expectations on unpaid care work in the region. The latest findings disrupt patriarchal preconceptions with respect to sharing childcare responsibilities but reinforce them when it comes to insisting that budgeting and spending are the…
Female Political Participation Inspires Confidence In Female Political Leadership in MENA
Press Release Key findings from MaryClare Roche, PhD‘s new blog : Levels of disagreement with the idea that men make better political leaders than women is at an all-time high in eight of the eleven countries for which Arab Barometer has trend data. However, these changes are not just young people with more equal gender views coming of age. Instead,…
The Global Economy Caught Between Wars and Geopolitical Conflicts
There is a saying, “When the US economy sneezes, the emerging markets get a cold.” The global economy now may be more complex: it is more resilient in terms of where new economic growth emerges, but more vulnerable in terms of risk emanating from the United States, but also in China, and in sites of conflict and geopolitical competition. Inflation…
Tunisians Emigrate in Record Numbers as Hopes Fade for Its Economy, Democracy
They once believed that the Arab Spring would yield stability, but Tunisians are now fleeing their home country in droves TUNIS, Tunisia—Record numbers of Tunisians are leaving the country after a decade of economic turmoil and the government’s turn toward authoritarianism, dimming hopes that a younger generation can build a future in the nation that sparked the Arab Spring. The flood of Tunisian émigrés…