Political Attitudes in the Arab World:

Findings from the First Wave

of the Arab Barometer

Mark Tessler

University of Michigan

• Jordan: Center for Strategic Studies, University of Jordan

• Palestine: Center for Policy and Survey Research, Ramallah

• Morocco: team at Hassan II University-Mohammadia• Algeria: team at University of Algiers• Kuwait: team at Kuwait University• Yemen: team at Yemen Interactions • Lebanon: team at Statistics Lebanon• U.S. Partners: University of Michigan, Princeton

University

The Arab Barometer Project

The Arab Barometer Web site, with postings in both Arabic and English, may be found at http://www.arabbarometer.org/. The site contains information about the Barometer, a summary of findings,

and selected descriptive and analytical reports• The Arab Barometer, while independent in both design and content,

cooperates with a number of other regional barometers and with other Arab and international public opinion and political reform projects. Web sites for some of these are listed below.

• Global Barometer Surveys        http://www.globalbarometer.net/ • Sub-Sahara African Barometer  http://www.afrobarometer.org/ • Latin America Barometer         http://www.latinobarometro.org/index.php?id=150

• East Asian Barometer       http://www.asianbarometer.org/newenglish/introduction/ • Arab Reform Initiative                http://www.arab-reform.net/ • World Values Survey         http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/ • Program on Governance in the Arab Region http://www.pogar.org/ • Latin American Public Opinion Project  http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/

Seven Representative National Surveys in 2006-2007: Selected Topics

• Political Interest and Participation

• Candidate and Leadership Qualifications

• Trust in Political Institutions

• Political System Preferences

• Religion in Political Affairs

Very Often Often Rarely Never0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

22

35

27

15

Do You Follow News about Government and Politics in (Respondent’s Country)

Jordan Palestine Algeria Morocco Kuwait Lebanon Yemen0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

16

44

14 18 1832

13

34

35

3233

43

35

34

Often

Very Often

Follows News about Government and Politics by Country (All=57%)

Neither Vote Only Vote and Rally

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

38 39

23

Electoral Participation: Voted in the Most Recent Election and Attended a Campaign Rally

Male

Female

Primar

y

Secondar

y

Post-S

econdar

y18

-2425

-3435

-44

45 an

d Older

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

30

1620

2327

1823

2723

Percentage Who Voted in Last Election and Attended a Campaign Rally by Sex, Education and Age (All=23%)

Party

Affilia

...

Level

of Educ..

.

Religio

sity

Issue A

gree.

..0

102030405060708090

31

6754 56

24

21

24 26

Important

Very Impor-tant

How Important Would You Consider Each of the Following Factors When Deciding Which

Candidate To Support in an Election

Very Important Important Unimportant0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

60

34

6

How Important Is Each of the Following as a Qualification for National Leadership:

Openness to Diverse Political Ideas

Prime Minister Courts Parliament Political Parties05

101520253035404550

21 19 158

29 31

28

21Much

Very Much

How Much Trust Do you Have In Each of the Following Political Institutions

05

1015202530354045

38

21

41

Some People Have Said that the Arab World Lags Behind Other Regions. To the Extent This Is the

Case, Which Statement Best Expresses Your Opinion about Responsibility for this Situation?

Male

Female

Primar

y

Secondar

y

Post-S

econdar

y18

-2425

-3435

-44

45 an

d Older

05

10152025303540

29 29 2934

2631 29 28 28

Percentage with Very Much or Much Trust in Political Parties by Sex, Education and Age (All=29%)

Electoral Participation by Trust in Political Parties

Very Much or Much Trust

Little or No Trust10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

29

4037 39

32

21

Neither

Vote Only

Vote and Rally

Jordan Palestine Algeria Morocco Kuwait Lebanon Yemen0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

3025

32

57

37

48

28

55 5851

35

5244

50

15 17 17

8 11 8

22

Strongly Agree

Agree

Disagree

Democracy May Have Its Problems but Is Better than Any Other Form of Government

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1324

37

30

Agree

Strongly Agree

There Is a Substantial Division of Opinion about the Role of Religion in Political Affairs

0102030405060708090

100

83 89

17 11

Agree Democracy Best Despite Problems

Not Agree Democracy Best Despite Problems

Support for Democracy Is Not Influenced by Views about the Role of Religion in Political Affairs

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

8 5

241518 15

50

65

Very Suitable

Suitable

A Little Suitable

Not Suitable at All

Would Each of the Following Be a Suitable Way of Governing Your Country:

A Parliament with Only Islamic Parties

Male

Female

Primar

y

Secondar

y

Post-S

econdar

y18

-2425

-3435

-44

45 an

d Older

303540455055606570

54 54 54 55 53 53 52 55 58

Percentage Who Strongly Agree or Agree that Religion and Politics Should Be Separated

by Sex, Education and Age (All=54%)

Views about Religion in Political Affairs by Frequency of Reading the Quran

Reads Quran Daily (21%)

Several Times a

Week (24%)

Sometimes (30%)

Rarely or Never (25%)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

5448

42 424652

58 58

Religion Should Not Be Separated from Politics

Religion Should Be Separated from Politics

Views about Religion in Political Affairs by Evaluation of Political Situation

40

45

50

55

60

57

43

56

44

53

4749

51

Religion Should Not Be Sepa-rated from Politics

Religion Should Be Separated from Poli-tics

05

1015202530354045

38 3738 39

24 24

Neither

Vote Only

Vote and Rally

Electoral Participation by Views about Islam in Politics

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

70 73

30 27

Little or No Trust

Much or Very Much Trust

Trust in Political Partiesby Views about Islam in Politics

Only 50-60 Percent Report Political Interest and Involvement

Education and Openness to Diverse Political Ideas Considered Important Qualifications for Political Office and Leadership

Only about 50 Percent Trust Political Institutions; Even Fewer Have Much Trust in Political Parties

Most Believe Democracy Is the Best Political System; There is Disagreement about Whether Religion Should Play a Role in Political Affairs

Religiosity and Unfavorable Political Judgments Are Associated Support for Religion in Political Affairs; This Support Is Not Associated with Political Involvement or Trust in Political Parties

Some General Conclusions