On the scarcity and promise of survey-based studies of international relations and security affairs in the Middle East

Abstract

Despite a dramatic increase in the availability and quality of public opinion data from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) since the Arab uprisings of 2011, the use of surveys to study international relations and security affairs in the region remains notably rare. One likely reason for the dearth of survey-based work is the assumption that there are relatively few important questions regarding which citizens in the mostly authoritarian MENA states can be expected to influence outcomes, particularly those relevant to Western foreign policy interests that have historically dominated the research agenda. This introduction contends that current events, as well as governments’ own behaviour, contradict the idea that public opinion does not inform or constrain the policy choices of MENA leaders on international and security issues. But it also argues that such popular influence on foreign and security policy should not be the standard for judging the utility of survey-based research. It concludes by introducing the articles of this Themed Section, which, although examining diverse substantive topics, are united in showing the value of survey methods and evidence for generating novel insights about international and security affairs in the MENA region.