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MENA Publics and the Future of Normalization with Israel

MENA Publics and the Future of Normalization with Israel

In 2020, the Trump administration secured normalization agreements between Israel and four Arab countries – Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates – marking a significant shift in regional relations and sparking a public discussion across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The deals were complex, not only secured peace with Israel but included changes in U.S. policy that…

How the Gaza War is Shaping MENA Public’s Support for the Two-State Solution

How the Gaza War is Shaping MENA Public’s Support for the Two-State Solution

The War in Gaza has had dramatic effects on views of publics across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), as Arab Barometer findings have revealed.  Unsurprisingly, views of how the Palestinian-Israeli conflict should be resolved have also been affected.  Given the images coming out of Gaza, it might be expected that views toward the peace process would have hardened…

Libya’s Former Foreign Minister’s Interview Reignites Public Outcry Over Normalization

Libya’s Former Foreign Minister’s Interview Reignites Public Outcry Over Normalization

Najla El Mangoush, the former Foreign Minister of Libya, appeared in her first media interview since her dismissal from her post in August 2023. The minister was suspended by the prime minister of the Government of National Unity (GNU) following leaks regarding her meeting with the former Israeli foreign minister. The meeting took place in Rome, Italy in mid August…

Lebanon Migration Insights: 2024 Public Opinion Factsheet

Lebanon Migration Insights: 2024 Public Opinion Factsheet

In the eighth wave of Arab Barometer, we interviewed 2,400 Lebanese citizens between February and April 2024 to help shed light on their migration preferences. This survey provides a snapshot of how current economic, political, and security challenges—including the escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah—are shaping these migration aspirations. About AB Wave VIII Survey This factsheet highlights key findings from…

Iran’s position on Palestine is not enough to win the favor of MENA citizens

Iran’s position on Palestine is not enough to win the favor of MENA citizens

During his speech to U.S. Congress in late July, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments conflating support for Palestine with blind allegiance to Iran were not just factually unsubstantiated. They were also built on a faulty and falsifiable assumption: that the convergence of stances on Palestine automatically implied a causal relationship between the actions of citizens protesters on the one…

Kuwait’s Suspended Parliament: Where Does the Public Stand?

Kuwait’s Suspended Parliament: Where Does the Public Stand?

In a televised address on May 10, Kuwait’s Emir, Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, firmly stated, “I will not let democracy be exploited to destroy the state.” This address came as he dissolved the National Assembly for the second time in three months and enacted temporary suspensions of specific constitutional provisions for up to four years. Subsequently, the Emir sanctioned…

Tunisian political views: splintered and confused

Tunisian political views: splintered and confused

Combined with fractured views about political systems, voter indifference is not what Tunisia needs today. As many countries around the world head for elections this year, surveys show the democratic ideal to be very much alive in most nations while scepticism is also growing about the way political systems have evolved. In the Arab region, democracy building remains as elusive…

Youth Outlooks: Life Quality and Economic Conditions (PART II)

Youth Outlooks: Life Quality and Economic Conditions (PART II)

What drives differences in future optimism in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region? Part I of this series suggested  that there is no perfect correlation between quality of life and evaluations of economic conditions. MENA citizens can believe that their quality of life in the future will be better, even if they simultaneously have less faith in the…

Making sense of the Kuwaiti June 2023 Elections

Making sense of the Kuwaiti June 2023 Elections

For political scientists monitoring the Arab world, the Kuwaiti elections typically pose two questions. First, how is it that only one woman is elected to parliament in a country where 13 women were candidates and a country with several women chief executive officers? Second, why are there so many elections in general? According to 2022 Arab Barometer data, younger Kuwaitis…