Findings From Eighth Annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey
- Lack of jobs and opportunities seen as the number-one recruitment driver for Daesh Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) are top allies in the region but Iran’s influence is on the rise
- Arab youth split over whether the U.S. is an ally or enemy
- Five years after fighting for political freedom during the Arab Spring, today most young Arabs prioritise stability over democracy
- The UAE is viewed as a model country for the fifth straight year, and is the most favoured nation to live in and set up a business
DUBAI, UAE: Arab youth say the rise of Daesh (ISIS) remains the
single biggest challenge facing the Middle East, but young people in the region
overwhelmingly reject the extremist group and believe it will fail to establish
an Islamic state.
That is the headline finding of the eighth annual ASDA’A
Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey.
“This is an important survey of how Arab youth – the
largest and arguably most important demographic in the region – think about the
evolving and challenging environment in which they live,” said Donald A. Baer,
Worldwide Chair and CEO, Burson-Marsteller.
“Today’s Arab youth are tomorrow’s leaders, business owners, workers and
consumers, and the information in this survey helps all of us to reach and
understand this group better.”
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| Sunil John - a file pic |
Sunil John, CEO of ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller, said: “Now
in its eighth year, the ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey has
established itself as a key referral source across the world, and we hope that
by providing this data – which we share as part of our commitment to
evidence-based communications and our social responsibility – will add to
further dialogue about this important segment of society.”
While three in four Arab youth are concerned about the
rise of Daesh, just one in six believes the terrorist group ultimately will
succeed. Though concern is rising – with 50 per cent of youth citing it as the
biggest obstacle in the region, up from 37 per cent last year – tacit support
for the group is declining with just 13 per cent agreeing they could see
themselves supporting Daesh even if it did not use so much violence, compared
with 19 per cent in 2015.
A quarter of young people believe that a lack of jobs and
opportunities are the main recruitment drivers for the terrorist group,
although one in four of those surveyed also said they could see no reason why
anyone would want to take up with Daesh.
Arab youth cite Saudi Arabia as their biggest ally for
the fifth-year running (31 per cent), followed by the UAE (28 per cent) and the
U.S. (25 per cent). But views on the U.S. are increasingly polarised. While
two-thirds of young Arabs view the country as an ally, one third see the
country as an enemy, especially in Iraq (93 per cent), Yemen (82 per cent) and
Palestine (81 per cent).
Iran’s increasing regional influence is reflected in the
survey, with 13 per cent of young Arabs now viewing the country as their
biggest ally – although a small majority of young Arabs (52 per cent) view it
as an enemy.
Five years after the Arab Spring, most young Arabs today
are prioritizing stability over democracy. In 2016, just 36 per cent of young
Arabs think that the Arab world is better off following the uprisings, down
from 72 per cent in 2012 at the height of unrest.
The majority of young Arabs (53 per cent) agree that
promoting stability in the region is more important than promoting democracy
(28 per cent). At the same time, two
thirds are calling for their leaders to do more to improve their personal
freedoms and human rights.
Twenty-two per cent of young Arabs, nearly one in four,
cite the UAE as the country they would most like to live in, and just as many
say it is the country they would most like their country to emulate. The UAE is
also the most attractive country for potential entrepreneurs: Of the young
Arabs who intend to start their own business in the next five years, a quarter
would choose to set up shop in the UAE if they could.
International polling firm and Burson-Marsteller
subsidiary Penn Schoen Berland (PSB) conducted 3,500 face-to-face interviews
with exclusively Arab national men and women aged 18-24 in the six Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC) countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar,
Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain; Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine,
Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Yemen. The interviews were conducted from January
11 to February 22, 2016.
“With 60 per cent of the population below the age of 30,
the Arab world is characterised by its vast youth population,” said Jeremy
Galbraith, CEO of Burson-Marsteller Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and
Global Chief Strategy Officer. “The ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey
serves as a barometer of the overarching social, political and economic trends
that define the Arab world through the eyes of its youth.”
