The latest events in Jordan have prompted a closer examination of the country’s dynamics. Here are the latest figures for trust in government, satisfaction with government performance, and satisfaction with education and healthcare according to Arab Barometer Wave 6 data that was conducted in late 2020. Our latest survey findings supplement previous analysis on Jordan by Dr. Abdul-Wahab Kayyali using Arab…
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Between inequality and sectarianism: who destroys generalised trust? The case of Lebanon
In 2015, a new wave of protests erupted in Lebanon. These protests were the result of a lengthy period of political instability in the country. The informality of the sectarian political system in Lebanon has reached the point where the country has not had a president for more than two years. The aim of this paper is to examine the…
Arab Barometer: MENA Residents Have an Increasingly Favorable View of China
A new survey published by Arab Barometer, a Princeton University-affiliated non-partisan quantitative research institute, reveals increasingly favorable public perceptions of China in many countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa. “In nine of 12 countries surveyed as part of the Arab Barometer’s fifth wave, roughly half or more favor stronger economic relations with China,” said the group’s director, Dr….
A New Secularism Is Appearing in Islam
Across much of the Islamic world, many Muslims are disillusioned with the ugly things done in the name of their religion. For decades, social scientists studying Islam discussed whether this second biggest religion of the world would go through the major transformation that the biggest one, Christianity, went through: secularization. Would Islam also lose its hegemony over public life, to…
Why Iraqis are still searching for a ‘homeland’ 20 years after US invasion
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…
Who Desires to Migrate from MENA?
Desire to Migrate Increasing Among MENA Citizens. MENA Citizens have an increased desire to migrate, which can be attributed to increasing political and economic instability throughout the MENA region following the Arab Spring. The Syrian Civil War, the Libyan Revolution, the emergence of ISIS, the civil war in Yemen, lack of economic opportunities for youth have all created increased stability…
Water Pollution Worries in MENA
While seemingly endless conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa are at the fore of Western media coverage, a less conspicuous but arguably as influential factor has played a pivotal role in stoking existing tensions, fomenting unrest, and destabilizing daily life. Water, and more specifically access to clean sources of water, shapes conflicts throughout the region. From Saudi-led blockades…
A New Dawn for Political Islam?
The Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) has seen an increase in levels of religiosity, particularly among youth, over the last five years. What implications might this have for the region? Does this rise in personal religiosity correspond with changes in views about the proper role for religion in politics? Might this change foreshadow a revival in fortunes of…
Public Trust in Arab Armies
Recent wars in Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Yemen have helped push regional defense spending—already the highest in the world—to new heights. Led by the oil-rich monarchies of the Persian Gulf, enormous new weapons acquisitions pushed military spending in the Middle East to 6 percent of GDP in 2016, compared to the global average of just 2.2 percent. While the military’s…
Shifting Public Opinion in the Arab World
This episode of MEnbar, recorded during the Doha Forum 2024, features Amaney Jamal, the Dean of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and co-principal investigator of the Arab Barometer project. Jamal provides an in-depth look at the Arab Barometer’s critical work, which captures Arab public opinion on the region’s political, social, and economic issues. She unpacks findings from…
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Concluding the Arab Uprising Project with Bassam Haddad and Dean Amaney Jamal
Concluding the Arab Uprising Project Presented by the Project Co-Organizers Bassam Haddad and Amaney Jamal Organized by: Arab Studies Institute, Princeton’s Arab Barometer, and George Mason’s Middle East and Islamic Studies Program. About the Project December 17, 2020 marked the tenth anniversary of the start of the Arab uprisings in Tunisia. Beginning in 2011, mass uprisings swept North Africa and…
Migration Attitudes in the Middle East and North Africa (2023-2024)
Migration has been a major issue affected the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has for decades. Many citizens across the region have sought to leave their homelands in search of life in foreign countries. Arab Barometer has been monitoring attitudes toward migration in the region since 2006. The newest Wave VIII surveys between 2023 and 2024 reveal that…
Iraq’s Pulse Twenty Years After The Invasion
On March 20, 2003, U.S. forces invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein. The U.S. then set about a political transformation of Iraq with the stated goal of bringing about democracy, including instilling a parliamentary system with regular elections. Since that time, Iraq has suffered significant turmoil, including an armed resistance against the U.S., civil conflict, and the…
Do urban Arabs support gender equality to a greater extent than rural Arabs do?
Traditional perceptions of gender roles continue to constrain women’s autonomy in household decision-making. Data from the Arab Barometer’s fifth wave of surveys show that 60 percent of Arabs agree or strongly agree with the following statement, “Husbands should have final say in all decisions concerning the family”. The proportions of citizens who agree with husbands having final say, vary by…
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Jordan: Public Opinion Report 2025
Arab Barometers Wave IX survey captures public opinion in Jordan at a moment when persistent economic pressure intersects with continuing regional upheaval. The results suggest that Jordanians assess domestic institutions, governance, and foreign relations through two dominant lenses: whether the state can respond to material hardship at home and whether international actors are perceived to stand with Palestinians amid the…