WASHINGTON, Jan. 31,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Arab Center Washington DC
recently released the results of the 2022 Arab Opinion
Index, the eighth in a series of public opinion surveys
conducted across the Arab world.
Questions probed a number of issues regarding quality of life in
the Arab world; assessments of US foreign policy; normalization
with Israel; democracy and
political participation; religion and public life; and opinions on
the war in Ukraine.
52% of Arab citizens believe that their countries are headed in
the wrong direction, compared to 42% who say that they are headed
in the right direction. Of those who report that things are headed
in the wrong direction, 40% attribute this to economic reasons.
Regarding the war in Ukraine,
44% of respondents agree that Russia's aggression is unjustified, compared
to 19% who say that it is, and 37% who say that they do not know,
or declined to answer.
An overwhelming majority of Arabs (84%) disapprove of their
countries establishing diplomatic relations with Israel. Respondents cited Israel's expansionist policies, as well as
its treatment of the Palestinians, as reasons for their
opposition to diplomatic relations with Israel. 76% of respondents agree that the
Palestinian cause concerns all Arabs, and not just the Palestinians
alone.
71% of Arabs stated that they believe that democracy is the most
suitable system of governance for their countries, while only 38%
support a system where military officials rule.
Khalil E. Jahshan,
Executive Director of Arab Center Washington DC, said that "It is
striking to see the large gap between Arab public opinion and Arab
public policy on many subjects included in the survey." Dana El
Kurd, Non-resident Fellow at Arab Center Washington DC, stated,
"Over the years we've conducted this survey in the Arab world we
see quite a bit of support for democracy as a system of governance
because it implies accountability and protection from government
overreach."
The 2022 Arab Opinion Index is based on findings from
face-to-face interviews conducted between June and December 2022 with 33,300 individual respondents
in 14 Arab countries: Algeria,
Egypt, Iraq, Jordan,
Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi
Arabia, Sudan, and
Tunisia. The survey was conducted
by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies in Doha, Qatar.
An Executive Summary of the findings is available at:
http://arabcenterdc.org/ArabOpinion
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SOURCE Arab Center DC