This paper explores the question of what explains public opinion of women empowerment in the Middle East and North Africa. Muslim societies have often been accused of conservatism toward empowerment, stripping women of equal access to education and opportunities. However, many predominantly Muslim societies in the MENA region seem to be on the way to implement change to provide women…
The Mounting Wave: Protest Participation in Sudan from 2011 to 2019
This article analyzes the evolution of protest participation in Sudan from 2011 to 2018 using the data provided by the Arab Barometer Surveys. It finds that participation evolved substantially in both size and demographic determinants, reflecting the strong deterioration of the population’s socio-economic conditions over the last decade. The Arab Barometer surveys are the only cross-country source of data available…
Arab Barometer Wave V
(2)The Mounting Wave: Protest Participation in Sudan from 2011 to 2019
This article analyzes the evolution of protest participation in Sudan from 2011 to 2018 using the data provided by the Arab Barometer Surveys. It finds that participation evolved substantially in both size and demographic determinants, reflecting the strong deterioration of the population’s socio-economic conditions over the last decade. The Arab Barometer surveys are the only cross-country source of data available…
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,…
Can Morocco Effectively Handle the COVID-19 Crisis?
In Morocco, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased public trust in government, but people still have doubts about the effectiveness of the healthcare system. According to a recent study conducted by the Moroccan Institute for Policy Analysis (MIPA), the majority of Moroccans surveyed are generally satisfied with the measures taken by the government to battle the coronavirus. However, the same survey…
Arab Barometer Wave IV
(5)The Mounting Wave: Protest Participation in Sudan from 2011 to 2019
This article analyzes the evolution of protest participation in Sudan from 2011 to 2018 using the data provided by the Arab Barometer Surveys. It finds that participation evolved substantially in both size and demographic determinants, reflecting the strong deterioration of the population’s socio-economic conditions over the last decade. The Arab Barometer surveys are the only cross-country source of data available…
From virtual space to public space: The role of online political activism in protest participation during the Arab Spring
This study examines the relationship between online social media use and protest participation during the Arab Spring, pro-democracy movements that swept across vast parts of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). What role did online communication media play in individual decisions to participate in these high-risk political activities? We address this question by drawing on microdata from the Arab…
Political Division and Social Destruction: Generalized Trust in Palestine
This article discusses the effect of the political division between Fatah and Hamas on the level of generalized trust in Palestine. It argues that the level of trust in Palestinian society has been shaped and influenced by the ongoing political division since 2007. As the level of trust has been declining since 2007, this research suggests that distrust in the…
Arab Barometer Wave III
(4)The Mounting Wave: Protest Participation in Sudan from 2011 to 2019
This article analyzes the evolution of protest participation in Sudan from 2011 to 2018 using the data provided by the Arab Barometer Surveys. It finds that participation evolved substantially in both size and demographic determinants, reflecting the strong deterioration of the population’s socio-economic conditions over the last decade. The Arab Barometer surveys are the only cross-country source of data available…
Political Division and Social Destruction: Generalized Trust in Palestine
This article discusses the effect of the political division between Fatah and Hamas on the level of generalized trust in Palestine. It argues that the level of trust in Palestinian society has been shaped and influenced by the ongoing political division since 2007. As the level of trust has been declining since 2007, this research suggests that distrust in the…
Arab Barometer Wave II
(2)Political Division and Social Destruction: Generalized Trust in Palestine
This article discusses the effect of the political division between Fatah and Hamas on the level of generalized trust in Palestine. It argues that the level of trust in Palestinian society has been shaped and influenced by the ongoing political division since 2007. As the level of trust has been declining since 2007, this research suggests that distrust in the…
Arab Barometer Wave I
(1)The Arab Spring Five Years Later Volume One : Toward Greater Inclusiveness
“Since the series of uprisings of the Arab Spring began, the debate in Arab countries has focused almost exclusively on politics and questions of national identity. However, it is economic issues that are driving the agenda, and real economic grievances must be addressed in order for the many transitions to succeed. Hafez Ghanem gives a thorough assessment of the Arab…
Egypt’s 2011–2012 parliamentary elections: Voting for religious vs. secular democracy?
“This study investigates whether individuals’ attitudes towards democracy and secular politics have any influence on voting behaviour in Egypt. Based on data from survey conducted immediately after the Egyptian parliamentary elections in January 2012, this study finds that Egyptians’ attitudes towards democratic governance were quite negative around the parliamentary elections, yet Egyptians still endorsed democracy as the ideal political system…
Increasing Entrepreneurial Impact in the MENA Region
“This chapter treats countries of Middle East and of North Africa (MENA) as two similar but culturally distinct sub-regions of MENA. Using data collected by academics and international organisations (e.g. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, OECD, UNDP), Qatar, U.A.E., Jordan in the Middle East, and Morocco in North Africa, emerge as the countries most likely to have the potential to develop a…
INSTABILITY IN THE SOUTH
“The Arab uprisings of 2011 (and their national aftermaths) have led to a collapse of the regional order, thus transforming the Southern Mediterranean shores into a basin of persistent instability. The continuing volatility and conflicts in NATO’s southern neighbourhood directly affect the security of the Alliance. Threats emanating from terrorist groups and the migration crisis are largely due to economic,…
Challenging Information Scarcity. The Effect of Internet Use on Protest under Authoritarian Regimes
“The importance of profoundly understanding the drivers behind protest under authoritarian regimes is hard to overestimate. Mass mobilisation can be the prelude to dramatic political ruptures that affect the lives of many. This can be for the better, as Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution or Slobodan Milosevic’ overthrow demonstrate, but protests can also be the overture of a nightmare, as revealed by…
THE EU-TUNISIA PRIVILEGED PARTNERSHIP – WHAT NEXT?
“On 15 May 2018, Tunisia and the European Union (EU) will hold an Association Council meeting where they are expected to adopt partnership priorities, the dedicated framework used since the review of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) in 2015 in replacement of the former action plan. Since the last Association Council meeting in May 2017, some voices on both sides…
Political Participation and Political Citizenship
“This chapter discusses the various definitions of political participation and political citizenship, as they encompass many activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue. It also highlights the importance of political participation and citizenship, and how participation extends beyond parties and citizens’ involvement in certain aspects of the electoral process through independent…
Multiple fragmentations de la Méditerranée : quelles perspectives pour la sécurité régionale? (French)
“Double fragmentation on the southern and northern scale: what consequences? The Mediterranean is a space of ideological tensions, economic disparities and security tensions. Security is a strong common priority for the peoples and governments of the region. How can it become a common constructive project for the future?”
Revolution and Counterrevolution in Egypt
“Over eighteen days in January 2011, Tahrir Square in Cairo was featured in broadcasts around the world as the epicenter of Egypt’s thawra, or revolution. Festooned with flags and signs and posters, pulsing with the beat of music and speakers and protest chants from loudspeakers and stages, and filled with the sense of changing history, the square was temporarily transformed…
Launching Revolution: Social Media and the Egyptian Uprising’s First Movers
“Drawing on evidence from the 2011 Egyptian uprising, we demonstrate how the use of two social media platforms – Facebook and Twitter – contributed to a discrete mobilizational outcome: the staging of a successful first protest in a revolutionary cascade, or, what we call “first mover mobilization.” Specifically, we argue that these two platforms facilitated the staging of a large,…
Rallying Around the Flag? az Iszlám Állam közel-keleti támogatottsága (Hungarian)
“Az előadás az Iszlám Állam nevű terrorszervezet közel-keleti társadalmakban kimutatható támogatottságának okait, befolyásoló tényezőit kívánja vizsgálni. Az ISIS mint a közel-keleti eseményeket tematizáló, Irak és Szíria jelentős területeit elfoglaló militáns szervezet a mögötte álló ideológiai és kommunikációs eszköztárral gyorsan tűnt fel, majd viszonylag rövid idő alatt veszítette el pozíciói jelentős részét. Felemelkedése azonban már jóval korábban elindult, hatása, következményei pedig…
Outsourcing Welfare. how the Money Immigrants Send Home Contributes to Stability in Developing Countries
“In order to meet the International Monetary Fund’s debt-reduction guidelines, many developing country governments have had to retrenth their social welfare systems. This text is about how remittances – the hundreds of billions of dollars international migrants send to family members in their home countries each year – are helping to fill this welfare gap and prevent civil unrest in…