Arab Center Washington DC Releases the Results of the 2022 Arab Opinion Index

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Jan 31, 2023, 19:21 ET

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.