2008: Lebanese Sentiments On Obama
August 8th, 2008 by Matt
For The Daily Star, Rozina Ali heads into the streets of Beirut to talk to Lebanese about their evolving opinions of Barack Obama’s candidacy. While many of the interviewees still view Obama as an individual with potential to bring real change to the Middle East, Ali perceives a shifting mindset among many Lebanese who have become more circumspect about Obama in light of his political moves toward the center after securing his primary victory. His comments regarding an “undivided” Jerusalem in a speech before AIPAC proved especially unnerving for many of the interviewees.
Posted in Election 08, Lebanon, Public Opinion, US foreign policy, US politics | Comment »
POMED Notes: IRI Releases Findings From Pakistan Opinion Poll
July 29th, 2008 by Sarah
Last week, the International Republican Institute released the findings from its June 2008 Pakistan Public Opinion Poll. Thomas Garrett, Director of IRI’s Middle East and North Africa Regional Program, led the presentation of the survey’s findings alongside Rob Varsalone, IRI’s former Resident Country Director for Pakistan via teleconference.
71% of respondants believe that the new Pakistani government should engage in political dialogue with extremists.
61% believe the best way to combat extremists is with education and economic development. Another 24% believe these tactics should also be balanced with military force.
For POMED’s full notes, click here.
For the entire Pakistan Public Opinion Survey, click here.
For IRI’s Pakistan Index, click here.
Posted in Democracy Promotion, Event Notes, Pakistan, Public Opinion, US foreign policy | Comment »
The Mood From Pakistan
July 21st, 2008 by Adam
The International Republican Institute recently released a poll of Pakistani public opinion that provides insight into Pakistanis’ social, economic, and political outlook. On a pessimistic note, 86% of Pakistanis think the nation is headed down the wrong track and their are still high degrees of insecurity. Furthermore, a large majority see their economic situation as worsening, and the nation’s economic troubles are overwhelmingly the most important issue. There are some positive trends as people are favorably inclined to the government and believe that they can improve the issues they face.
Posted in Pakistan, Public Opinion | Comment »
2008: Iraqis Offer Views On Obama
July 17th, 2008 by Matt
Sabrina Tavernise and Richard Oppel, Jr. report for The New York Times on the complicated sentiments expressed by 18 Iraqis informally polled on their feelings toward Barack Obama in advance of his upcoming visit. Although several of those asked say they feel a certain closeness and identifiability with Obama as a person, some (mostly in the Iraqi government or military) express apprehension over his plan to withdraw American forces should he be elected president.
Posted in Election 08, Iraq, Public Opinion, US foreign policy, US politics | Comment »
Military Officers Support Use of Diplomacy and Development
July 16th, 2008 by Sarah
The Center for U.S. Global Engagement has released the result of a survey of active duty and recently retired (post-9/11) military officers and their attitudes toward the use of military and non-military tools to enhance U.S. national security.
According to the poll, a strong majority (80%) believe the use of non-military tools, including diplomacy, food, support for health, education, and economic development programs, are important to achieving national security objectives.
64% agree that the U.S. should put equal emphasis on military and non-military tools to address threats to national security. Of those who preferred one over the other, more supported strengthening non-military tools.
In addition, a strong majority (77%) agreed that world opinion of the U.S. makes a lot of difference to the effectiveness of the military overseas.
For the full results, click here.
Posted in Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, Military, Public Opinion, US foreign policy | Comment »
2008: Scaling Back Arab/Muslim Hopes for Obama
July 10th, 2008 by Matt
A couple recent articles dispute the widely-held notion that the Arab/Muslim world is almost universally holding its collective breath with hopes for a victory by Barack Obama in November. Writing in The New Republic, Josie Delap and Robert Lane Greene say that while it’s true that many foreigners are fascinated and enthusiastic about Obama’s potential, Arab opinion-makers and pundits are “almost unanimous in their skepticism of him”, reining in much of the excitement by frequently arguing that Obama is nothing more than a conventional American politician, especially with regard to Middle East policy.
In an electorally important part of the upper Midwest, meanwhile, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune last week carried an op-ed by Yousef Munayyer, who argued that some of Obama’s words and actions throughout the campaign have severely damaged his relationships with American Arabs and Muslims, perhaps irreparably.
Posted in Arab media, Election 08, Public Opinion, US foreign policy, US politics | 1 Comment »
Iraqi Media in the War of Ideas
July 7th, 2008 by Sarah
In this month’s Military Review, Lt. Col. Frank DeCarvalho, Maj. Spring Kivett, and Capt. Matthew Lindsey examine the use of the Iraqi media to influence Iraqi attitudes towards the United States. This technique is successful because “an Iraqi reporter talking to fellow Iraqis has a much greater effect on the Iraqi psyche than if a coalition reporter told the story.”
Abu Aardvark questions whether this eventually will discredit the Iraqi media or compromise its independence?
Posted in Arab media, Iraq, Journalism, Military, Public Opinion, US foreign policy | Comment »
World Opinion on the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict
July 2nd, 2008 by Sarah
WorldPublicOpinion.Org has released the results of their 18-country study regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Most favor the U.N. playing a robust role in peace enforcement, an even-handed approach to resolving the conflict, and negative reviews of Israel, Palestinians, the U.S., Arab Countries, and Europe.
For country-by-country summaries, click here.
For the full report, click here.
Posted in Israel, Mideast Peace Plan, Palestine, Public Opinion | Comment »
POMED NOTES: Does the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict Still Matter
July 1st, 2008 by Sarah
The Saban Center for Middle East Policy invited Shibley Telhami, a Senior Fellow at the Saban Center and Steven Kull, Director of WorldPublicOpinion.org, to discuss polls from the Arab world and beyond on attitudes towards the Israeli-Palestianian conflict. Both speakers agreed that public opinion supports a more even-handed approach by the U.S. to resolving the conflict. Martin S. Indyk, Senior Fellow and Director of The Saban Center, introduced the speakers and moderated the event.
For POMED’s full notes, click here.
Posted in Arab media, Event Notes, Hamas, Mideast Peace Plan, Public Opinion, US foreign policy | Comment »
Winning the War of Ideas
June 24th, 2008 by Adam
Newly sworn in Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs James Glassman writes in an editorial in the Wall Street Journal about how America can undertake ideological engagement to help win the war of ideas that is part of the War on Terror. Rhetoric should move away Manichean attempts to portray the struggle as one between the terrorists and everyone else. He suggests his goal will be to promote “…a pluralistic world with many peaceful and productive choices on how to order one’s life. The task is not to persuade potential recruits to become like Americans or Europeans, but to divert them from becoming terrorists.”
Posted in Public Opinion | Comment »
Language Matters
May 21st, 2008 by Pasha
Averroes worries at Syria Comment that a spike in sectarian language in the Syrian media will exacerbate developing sectarian rifts, and investigates the control of public opinion through media in Syria and Saudi Arabia.
Posted in Arab media, Public Opinion, Saudi Arabia, Syria | Comment »
Perceptions of America in the Middle East
May 6th, 2008 by Sharlina
The Pew Research Center’s Andrew Kohut and Richard Wike write in The National Interest of the results of The Pew Global Attitudes Project, particularly how “Iraq, the war on terrorism, American support for Israel and other key features of U.S. foreign policy continue to generate animosity in the Middle East.” In assessing improvements, Kohut and Wike surmise that “America seems to be winning the battle of ideas on some important fronts,” including a decrease in support for terrorism and “broad support for democracy, capitalism and globalization.”
Posted in Public Opinion, US foreign policy | Comment »
A Critique of Arab Public Opinion Polling
April 18th, 2008 by Stephen
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy has released a fascinating new report by David Pollock entitled “Slippery Polls: Uses and Abuses of Opinion Surveys from Arab States.” The in-depth report critiques public opinion polling for the Arab world, identifying a number of flaws in many such polls including the consistent overrepresentation of the citizens of one country while virtually ignoring citizens of another; the consequences of sharp and changing divides among demographic groups in the region; and sloppy methodology owing in part to the difficult environment of censorship and intimidation pervasive in the region.
Pollock does not conclude that all polling results should be ignored, but rather that some polls are quite flawed, while many others are worthwhile: “the United States needs to take some polls from Arab states seriously—which means taking others with a few large grains of salt.” He also provides a “cheat sheet” of ten criteria for deciding which polls to take seriously and which to ignore.
Pollock expresses skepticism on the validity of many conclusions drawn from public opinion polling in the Arab world, but he does see strong evidence for two major conclusions:
“First, almost all Arab polls show widespread, continuing disapproval of American policies, both in Iraq and in the Arab-Israeli arena—and negative overall images of the United States, especially since the war in Iraq. Second, on the brighter side, solid evidence from almost every Arab poll (and from almost every other Muslim poll as well) demonstrates a sharp turn against terrorism.”
Posted in Arab media, Public Opinion, Reform, Terrorism | Comment »
POMED Notes: Brookings Event on Arab Public Opinion
April 17th, 2008 by Amanda
Shibley Telhami of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution presented his most recent polling research entitled “Views from the Middle East: Public Opnion in the Arab World” conducted by the University of Maryland and Zogby International covering public opinion in six Arab states (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and UAE). Poll questions included topics such as Lebanese Politics, the Arab-Israeli conflict, views of the United States and its efforts to spread democracy in the Middle East.
For POMED’s notes on the event, click here.
Posted in Egypt, Events, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Public Opinion, Saudi Arabia, UAE | Comment »
New Public Opinion Data from Arab World
April 16th, 2008 by Stephen
At Abu Aardvark, Marc Lynch reacts to the results of a new University of Maryland/Zogby International poll of public opinion in six Arab countries (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates). The results included the fact that 65% of those surveyed said, ”I don’t believe that promoting democracy is a real American objective.” Lynch is discouraged by the small number of Arabs who would prefer to live in the United States and what appears to be a waning interest in US politics and declining belief that electoral results could bring policy changes.
Posted in Arab media, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Public Opinion, Saudi Arabia, UAE | Comment »
Saudis Blog Too
April 14th, 2008 by Amanda
Steve Clemons of the Washington Note briefly comments on the effects of blogging in Saudi Arabia. He claims that the nation’s leaders believe that the roughly 500 blogs “are undermining official media and breaking up cartels of media control. They say that for the most part, the Kingdom is acquiescing to this, though incrementally.” He recommends a visit one of Saudi Arabia’s more popular political blogs (in Arabic).
Posted in Journalism, Public Opinion, Saudi Arabia | Comment »
Fayyad and the Palestinian People
March 25th, 2008 by Sharlina
Daniel Levy at Prospects for Peace discusses Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s “tightrope” to maintain credibility among the Palestinian people when support for the Fatah government is decreasing, and highlights Fayyad’s strategies during a recent interview.
Posted in Palestine, Public Opinion | Comment »
POMED Notes: Muslim Opinion Across the World
March 21st, 2008 by Sharlina
The Middle East Institute (MEI) invited Dalia Mogahed to discuss the new book she has co-authored with John L. Esposito, “Who Speaks for Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think.” Michael Ryan of MEI introduced Ms. Mogahed, Senior Analyst and Executive Director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, as a common contributor to publications such as the Wall Streeet Journal and the Journal of Middle East Peace.
For full notes on this event, click here.
Posted in Events, Public Opinion | Comment »
Palestinian Public Opinion and Hamas
March 18th, 2008 by Sharlina
In the latest poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, the main findings indicate a “major” shift of 10% in Hamas’s favor in the last three months. The change included “increased popularity of Hamas and its leadership, increased support for its positions and legitimacy, and greater satisfaction with its performance… [and] also presented Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fateh faction as impotent, unable to change the bitter reality in the West Bank or ending Israeli occupation through diplomacy.”
Posted in Hamas, Palestine, Public Opinion | Comment »
2008: Public Opinion and the Failure of U.S. Foreign Policy
March 15th, 2008 by Matt
A couple relevant broader perspective articles to pass along:
First, Andrew Kohut shares some recent Pew public opinion research that could have depressing implications for democracy promoters. Recent Pew polling shows that, “Disillusionment with the Iraq war has ushered in a rise in isolationist sentiment comparable to that of the mid-1970s following the Vietnam war.” For example, a majority of Americans saw the U.S. as having no responsibility to resolve the summer 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. This follows a clear pattern that shows a generally “less internationalist outlook”. Of course, this helps partially explain the not-exactly-rampant enthusiasm for democracy promotion on the campaign trail. Kohut’s post also takes a look at public views of the Iraq War, torture, and trade.
Next, Saul Singer writes in the Jerusalem Post that American foreign policy since the end of the Cold War has been a bipartisan failure, and each party’s leaders have failed for different reasons. Singer says that for the remaining presidential candidates to build a credible foreign policy vision, “McCain needs to show how he would do things differently from his predecessor, while Obama and Clinton need something that Americans will feel addresses the rising threat from totalitarian Islamism.” Singer’s column is a good one, but one of his problematic arguments is the blame he apportions wholly to Democrats for “scoffing” at democracy promotion and being “happy” to ignore the human rights records of the world’s worst dictators. Whether within the Middle East, Pakistan, Central Asia, or elsewhere, many Republican leaders have proved this equally fit for Singer’s list of thoroughly bipartisan failures.
Posted in Election 08, Public Opinion, US politics | Comment »
