This presentation outlines the methodological challenges of surveying in the Arab World, provides insights from field practice, and outlines an agenda for future methodological research and improvements. The presentation was given at the general conference of the European Consortium for Political Research, Hamburg (22 to 25 August 2018).
Arab Barometer
No Arab Bourgeoisie, No Democracy? The Entrepreneurial Middle Class and Democratic Attitudes since the Arab Spring
This study examines the democratic attitudes of the Arab world’s small business community before and after the start of the Arab Spring. We begin by analyzing the results from three waves of the Arab Barometer surveys (2006–2009, 2010–2011, and 2012–2014). All together, these datasets comprise more than 34,000 individuals, which include 3,075 small business owners across fourteen Arab countries. Our…
New Frontiers in Detecting Data Fabrication
The ability to make valid inferences in the social sciences depends on collecting reliable and accurate data. Data fabrication is an intentional deviation from the stated guidelines, instructions or sampling procedures by any member of the survey project, including interviewers, supervisors, data entry personnel, the project leaders or the principal investigator, that results in a contamination of the data.
The Total Survey Error Paradigm and Challenges to its Application in the Arab World
This presentation plots the challenges of the survey methodology in the Arab World against the well-established Total Survey Error Paradigm. It identifies areas which are not or no longer considered in Western survey methodology, describes practical problems and provides insights on how to tackles these. This presentation was given at the International Total Survey Error Workshop, Durham (2 – 6…
What Money Can’t Buy: Wealth, Inequality, and Economic Satisfaction in the Rentier State
How do perceived inequalities in allocation impact citizen satisfaction with state-distributed benefits in rentier societies? Resource-rich rentier regimes are widely theorized to maintain the economic and political satisfaction of subjects through wealth distribution. Yet, while qualitative research in the rentier states of the Arabian Peninsula has identified unequal distribution as a source of discontent, the relative importance of objective versus…
Droits des femmes en Algérie
Attitudes sociales envers les droits des femmes En plus du problème récurrent et souvent dénoncé de la non application des lois en vigueur, il existe un fossé entre les lois en faveur des droits des femmes et la perception qu’ont les Algérien(ne)s d’une manière générale de ces mêmes droits. Selon l’Arab Barometer (enquête non partisane dirigée dans le Monde Arabe mesurant les attitudes des citoyens sur…
Maghreb Matters: Report on the role of religion in Algeria…
…… Yet this is slowly changing. Younger Algerians are more educated, more urbanized, more connected both internally and externally through digital technologies, more demanding of opportunities, and more determined to be less acquiescent than the older generations in challenging government policies. The report does a good job of enumerating the various means for encouraging the current regime to realize that…
Saudi Arabia: No Country for Bold Women
THE LATEST PHASE OF BIN SALMAN’S ONGOING CRACKDOWN ….It is hard to overstate the chilling effect of the arrests and other recent acts of repression on public discourse within the Kingdom, which is already highly constrained. Even in 2010, well before the political rise of bin Salman, barely 15 percent of respondents to an Arab Barometer poll felt they could…
Gender, migration and the Arab Spring: evidence from Egypt
Dans les années récentes, plusieurs pays du Moyen Orient et de l’Afrique du Nord (MENA) ont témoigné des vagues de manifestations et de mouvements révolutionnaires, connus sous le nom du « Printemps arabe ». Ces séries de manifestations se sont révélées contagieuses ; elles ont commencé en Tunisie en 2010 et se sont rapidement propagées dans la région. L’Egypte, le…
Limiting Change Through Change: The Key to the Algerian Regime’s Longevity
Algeria is an island of stability in a tumultuous region. Almost seven years after the Arab Spring uprisings, the Algerian regime has shown a significant degree of resilience and adaptability. The country’s relative peace and the regime’s longevity reflect the capacity of elites to dispense political and economic resources in a controlled manner. This approach has created an appearance of…
Tunisia’s first post-uprisings local elections are Sunday. Can they bolster citizens’ belief in governance?
…. What voters want Economic justice was a central demand of the 2011 uprising, and public opinion data from the Arab Barometer collected in 2011, 2013 and 2015demonstrate that the economy remains at the forefront of Tunisians’ minds. When asked, “What are the most two important challenges your country is facing today?” nearly 75 percent of respondents listed the economic…
Review of Islam and Politics in the Middle East: Explaining the Views of Ordinary Citizens by Mark Tessler
Mark A. Tessler is a prominent political scientist, Samuel J. Eldersveld Collegiate Professor at the University of Michigan, who has worked on comparative politics, International Relations and world politics for more than forty-five years. His works have been translated into French and Persian. He is probably the leading authority on public opinion in the Middle East, and has published numerous…