Arab Public Opinion on Political Systems : A Comparative Study Using Principal Component Analysis

Abstract

The 2019–2020 Arab Opinion Index (AOI) offers interesting data on how responsive Arab societies are toward political regimes. Our study used principal component analysis to evaluate trends in public opinion regarding the suitability of the political regimes of Arab states according to their citizens. The first conclusion is that Arab citizens are generally committed to the priority of democracy despite other priorities related to religious and security concerns. Yet the political elite do not appear to attach great importance to this priority despite the desire for a democratic regime, which explains why Arab countries have experienced a series of failures in the democratic process. The second conclusion is that there are groups of states that are like-minded in their citizens' views on desirable or rejected regimes. Our method allowed us to better understand the underlying elements and components of the similarities and differences between states.