Collective Action in the Middle East: A Cross-National Survey of People’s Values and Political Engagement

Investigators: Mansoor Moaddel, Co-PI, Arland Thornton, Co-PI, Stuart Karabenick, Consultant, Robert Robinson, Consultant, Linda Young-DeMarco, Project Manager, Julie de Jong, Research Associate.

This project will carry out full-scale national surveys in Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen in order to:

1) Assess the extent of their citizens’ political engagement and participation in different forms of protest movements

2) Examine how participation is linked to: (a) inter-group relationships, (b) identity and framing, (c) attitudes toward the West and liberal values, (d) religious fundamentalism, (e) dysphoric emotions, and (f) the sources of epistemic authority (information/knowledge)

3) Explain cross-national variation in political engagement and assess its connections with varying political structure, cultural profile, and economic conditions across the six countries

4) Evaluate the implications of this six-country study for peace and public policy.

Coverage: Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Syria, Yemen.