Arab Barometer: Public Opinion Survey Conducted in Algeria, Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, and Bahrain 2006-2009

The Arab Barometer is a multicountry social survey designed to assess citizen attitudes about public affairs, governance, and social policy in the Arab World, and to identify factors that shape these attitudes and values. In this first round of the Arab Barometer, respondents in the countries of Jordan, Algeria, Lebanon, Morocco, Yemen, Bahrain and Palestine were queried regarding (1) economic questions, (2) evaluation of political institutions, political participation, and political attitudes, (3) identity and nationalism, (4) politics and religion, (5) religiosity, and (6) the Arab world and international affairs. In regards to economic questions, respondents were asked to give their opinion on the current overall and future economic condition of their countries, and the current economic situation of their families. On the topic of evaluation of political institutions, political participation, and political attitudes, respondents gave their opinions on how much trust they had in political institutions such as political parties, police, parliament, the courts, and the prime minister, their involvement in organizations, whether people can be trusted, city safety, election participation, and the fairness of elections. Further, participants were asked about the ease of obtaining services from the government, the present political situation, their political interest and main source of political information, and their support of the government. Other questions asked their opinions on political competition and reform, participation in political dissent, their opinions on the characteristics of democracy, the degree to which, on a given list of countries, each is a democracy, and how suitable democracy is for the respondents' respective countries. The remaining questions asked respondents for their opinions of various political systems, the performance of their country's current government, problems facing their country, citizen freedoms, corruption, and qualifications for national leadership. Concerning identity and nationalism, respondents were asked how they view themselves, what affiliations were most important, which groups they wished to have as neighbors, what they thought of emigration, and pride in their country. On the subject of politics and religion, queries included the degree to which religion should influence voting in elections, government decisions, and legislation. Regarding religiosity, respondents gave their views on the lottery, choosing a spouse, the interpretation of Islam in present-day issues, the behavior and situation of women in Muslim society, and a person's qualifications for a government job. The final topic, the Arab world and international affairs, questions were asked about the Arab world lagging behind other regions, the effectiveness of the Arab League, whether certain events were part of terrorist operations, the United States' role in the Middle East, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Additional topics include internet use, time spent in Western countries, and citizen disputes and the use of "wasta" (personal influence or connections). Demographic variables include age, gender, education, employment status, occupation, marital status, religious preference and practices, individual and family income, and country of origin.