Key Findings: The economy & COVID-19 were the most important challenges facing regional countries Despite large variation, minorities have a positive view of current economic conditions With the exception of two countries, minorities envision a more positive economic horizon & majorities fear loss of income Sizable proportions wish to emigrate, particularly among the educated youth Minorities trust the government across…
Migration
Egypt after the Coronavirus: Back to Square One
Egypt’s recent security and macro-economic stabilization has been built on weak foundations and Covid-19 has further exposed this fragility. Egypt is now back to a situation broadly similar to that before the 2011 revolution: stable on the surface, but with deep structural problems and simmering social grievances, and little buffers to mitigate them. This paper argues for a major shift…
Coronavirus: Pandemic unites Maghreb leaders in crackdown on dissent
The challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic across the world have been manifold; health and economic crises and a climate of fear and uncertainty. In North Africa, it has also heightened a crackdown on freedom of expression. Leaders, particularly in Algeria and Morocco, have taken advantage of the new climate to silence dissent and remove voices of the opposition they…
Youth in MENA: Findings from the Fifth Wave of the Arab Barometer
Key Findings: Youth economic frustration across MENA is increasing. Youth have little trust in governments, which are widely viewed as being corrupt, leading to a potential crisis of legitimacy in the region. However, views of youth differ relatively little from older generations in this regard. Youth are more likely to want to emigrate and to participate in informal politics. Arab…
Progress and missed opportunities: Morocco enters its third decade under King Mohammed VI
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI will celebrate 21 years on the throne in July 2020. Over the last two decades, the king has spearheaded positive civil and political reforms, as well as formidable foreign policy and infrastructural changes. Most recently, the regime took swift and effective measures to control the initial spread of the…
Determinants of Public Attitudes Towards Immigrants: Evidence from Arab Barometer
What factors determine public opinion towards immigrants? This inquiry is especially crucial in the context of developing countries since they hold 80 per cent of global refugee populations. Lebanon, with the burden on its shoulders due to hosting about one million Syrians, offers a unique case to study the mechanisms driving the formation of attitudes towards immigrants. In this article,…
What Arab Publics Think: Findings from the Fifth Wave of Arab Barometer
Key Findings from Wave 5: Half of Arabs want better ties with China while roughly four-in-ten want stronger relations with the U.S & Russia. Many want an increase in foreign aid, but are are largely indifferent to whether it comes from the E.U. or other countries. Few favor Iran while Saudi favorability has declined since 2016, leaving Turkey as the…
Writing the Next Chapters of Morocco and Algeria
Morocco is no stranger to protests, but its situation differs from that of Algeria. A recent article on the BBC using data from the Arab Barometer survey asked the question, “Could Morocco see the next uprising after Sudan and Algeria?” While it was selective in its choice of data points, for example, attitudes toward religion, the point of the article, which…