Arab youth are uncertain if democracy could ever work

Dubai: When asked whether they agree or disagree with the statement: “Democracy will never work in the region”, 39 per cent of the Arab youth surveyed agree that it will never work, 36 per cent think it could work while the remaining 25 per cent said they were unsure.

Sunil John, CEO of ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller, said the conflicting views on democracy in the Middle East are reflected by the fact that when asked to name the biggest obstacles facing the region, just 15 per cent cite “lack of democracy”.

He said this is a significant decrease from 2011 when “living in a democracy” was the most important desire for 92 per cent of Arab youth polled.

Views on democracy vary significantly from country to country.

Youth in Yemen are most sceptical about it (61 per cent agree that democracy will never work), followed by Qatar (60 per cent), Saudi Arabia (59 per cent), Oman (52 per cent) and Tunisia (46 per cent).

The five countries most optimistic about democracy are:

Kuwait (58 per cent disagree that democracy could never work)

Iraq (48 per cent)

Libya (42 per cent)

UAE (44 per cent) and Palestine (36 per cent).

The report attributed the lack of confidence among Arab youth with the waning of the Arab Spring’s legacy.

In 2015, just 38 per cent agree that the Arab world is better off following the Arab Spring, compared with 54 per cent in 2014, 70 per cent in 2013, and 72 per cent in 2012.