For decades, Islamic governance held allure in the Middle East. Now some scholars say the Islamist wave has passed. About a year after the Iranian revolution in 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the supreme leader of the new Islamic government, detailed his plan to govern according to Islam. The bearded, turbaned cleric said the state would support farmers and laborers and…
Wars in Gaza, Iran, and Elsewhere Have Sunk Washington’s Reputation—Maybe for Good Practically every person in the Middle East has been affected by the chain of events put into motion by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Tens of thousands of people, mostly Gazans, have been killed, millions have been displaced, and billions of dollars in damage has been…
Before Israel’s recent airstrikes and ground invasion in southern Lebanon as part of the widening regional war centered on Iran and its proxies, Lebanon was already in a condition of profound structural weakness. A recent survey of 1,200 randomly selected Lebanese citizens conducted by Arab Barometer in partnership with the Middle East Consultation Group of the Munich Security Conference provides…
Food insecurity across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is already widespread and deepening. New Arab Barometer data show that large segments of the region’s population are struggling to meet basic nutritional needs. Now, the escalating war involving the United States, Israel, and Iran risks pushing millions closer to hunger, turning an already fragile situation into a more acute crisis….
A New Survey Shows the Promises and Perils Facing the Country’s New Government A year after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, Syria remains a country very much in transition. Much of its infrastructure is in tatters, and the price tag for rebuilding the war-torn state stands at over $200 billion. It is in desperate need of laws and institutions…
As the war involving Iran, Israel, and the United States continues to reshape the Middle East, data from recent public opinion surveys conducted in fall 2025 by Arab Barometer shed light on how publics across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are weighing threats, alliances, and changes in the region. Across the Arab world, many still see Iran’s nuclear…
The Munich Security Conference (MSC) today released the Middle East Consultation Group (MECG) report at the opening of its 62nd annual conference (February 13–15), featuring Arab Barometer’s Wave IX public opinion findings. The report draws on nationally representative surveys conducted in Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco to inform its analysis of regional cooperation and security, political transitions,…
As the war involving the United States, Israel, and Iran escalates into a broader regional confrontation, new Arab Barometer survey data offer critical insight into how publics across the Middle East and North Africa are reassessing regional security, alignments, and the influence of great powers. These themes were at the center of the Washington launch of Arab Barometer’s Wave IX…
This report presents key findings from the ninth Arab Barometer (AB9) survey in Palestine, conducted two years after the October 7, 2023 attack and amid the conclusion of the Gaza War—reveals fundamental shifts in Palestinian public opinion across domestic challenges, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and international relations.
