Background In the sixth and latest wave of Arab Barometer, we asked 1,000 Lebanese citizens questions related to the Beirut port explosion and Lebanon’s political system. The results suggest that Lebanon’s economic crisis and poverty remain the top concerns of Lebanese citizens rather than the effects of the blast. And, although Lebanese prefer a civil state in theory, they are…

As Tunisia’s major political crisis unfolds, some commentators have argued that the country’s citizens never wanted democracy in the first place.  However, data from Arab Barometer presents a different picture. In recently conducted surveys from the Arab Barometer’s sixth wave, a majority of Tunisians say that democracy is always preferable to other forms of government compared to just a quarter…

Tunisia, often referred to as the democratic success story coming out of the Arab Spring, has experienced what some are calling a coup following President Kais Saied’s decision to dismiss Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and suspend parliament. Others say that the president has acted legally under article 80 of Tunisia’s constitution, setting up a significant constitutional crisis. Rached Ghannouchi, the…

The COVID-19 pandemic did not affect everyone equally; every region of the world has reported on the gender disparity of the virus’s toll. This is of particular concern in the MENA region, where women’s rights and roles in the public sphere have been limited by both legal and societal norms. Given the pre-pandemic status of women in the MENA region,…

MENA countries have differed substantially in their reaction and response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A regional comparison shows richer countries administering larger quantities of vaccines, relative to their population, than the non-oil exporting countries. Arab Barometer’s Wave VI, which concluded its third survey in March-April 2021, has revealed another troubling trend: vaccine hesitancy among large swaths of the MENA population….

A series of panels discussing the Sixth Wave of the Arab Barometer. The Middle East Institute (MEI) is pleased to hold the final event in a four-part series in cooperation with Arab Barometer, on the occasion of the publication of Arab Barometer’s findings from the sixth wave of its surveys. This most recent poll was conducted in the wake of…

A series of panels discussing the Sixth Wave of the Arab Barometer. The Middle East Institute (MEI) is pleased to hold the third event in a four-part series in cooperation with Arab Barometer, on the occasion of the publication of Arab Barometer’s findings from the sixth wave of its surveys. This most recent poll was conducted in the wake of…

A series of panels discussing the Sixth Wave of the Arab Barometer. The Middle East Institute (MEI) is pleased to announce a four-part series in cooperation with Arab Barometer, on the occasion of the publication of Arab Barometer’s findings from the sixth wave of its surveys. This most recent poll was conducted in the wake of the outbreak of Covid-19,…

Background: In the sixth wave of Arab Barometer, we interviewed citizens from seven countries in the Middle East and North Africa within the period of July 2020 – April 2021, tracking citizens’ evaluations of their economic situation during the unprecedented times of the COVID-19 pandemic. About AB6 How we did this. The following factsheet sets out some of the main…

“Health cannot be bought at the supermarket,” Hans Rosling once reminded audiences in 2006 when discussing health data and development in countries in the Arab region, among others. The famed physician and former professor of international health at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute continued, “You have to invest in health. You have to get kids into schooling. You have to train health…

Efforts to control the spread of covid-19 have prompted governments across the Arab World to pursue aggressive strategies — from closing international borders and imposing curfews, to restricting movement between cities and expanding digital surveillance of citizens. Such measures expose not only the tension between public health safeguards and protecting individual civil liberties; rather, they also reveal the threat of…