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March's exceptional book profoundly deals with the ideas of popular sovereignty and the Caliphate in modern Islamic political thought. While this book covers the concept of popular sovereignty in quite detail, March's portrayal fails to convince the reader whether or not Islamic democracies are possible as a result. Based on previous work on medieval Islamic political thought and public attitudes towards the Caliphate, I argue that conceptions of Islamic government have differed according to context, place and time, and in the modern era the public views the Caliphate as a vehicle for justice and welfare. This implies that Islamic government can still be broadly based on the principles of modern Islamic political thought while the exact institutional configurations may still be able to differ according to place, time and context. In conclusion, while March's book carefully synthesizes the theoretical debates, it might not have far-reaching practical implications for Islamic democracy.

This book analyses the attitudes of Muslim citizens toward international and regional actors. In essence, the project examines whether Muslim public opinion is in favor of the current international order and if there is an ideal type of international governance perceived by Muslim citizens. The author connects the analysis to the literature of international public opinion and to the research on social legitimacy of international and global governance. It is ideal for scholarly audiences interested in Islamic, International and Global Governance Studies.

Public opinion research in the Middle Eastern context has seen a proliferation of data research that aims to track changes in the state of Arab attitudes. Yet, it remains unclear what is being measured and how representative the data is. This article aims to address this question by reviewing the extent to which and how the existing literature has addressed the issues of representativeness of Twitter communities and the validity of opinion measures derived from sentiment analysis in the Middle Eastern context. While some studies aim no further than to gauge the dynamics of Twitter debates, many others seek to generalize the larger public opinion trends. This raises questions about how representative Twitter users are of the general public, how asymmetric social media use is, and how participation routines vary. Furthermore, to what extent can sentiment analysis translate individual tweets into meaningful measures of expressed opinion, and how sensitive are means of aggregating opinions from sentiment analysis to variation in terms of tone and amount of text within and across individuals? Following a comprehensive review of existing research in the context of the Middle East, this article also aims to derive a clearer understanding of how collective Twitter opinion relates to public opinion and make some suggestions of ways to design sampling and coding procedures, as well as validation exercises to address measurement bias and error.

« How do Muslim citizens across the globe perceive the European Union? And what factors influence their EU attitudes? This book offers the first systematic theoretical and empirical analysis of Muslim citizens' EU attitudes in and outside the European Union. Using the best empirical data available, the book demonstrates that Muslim citizens' attitudes are not shaped by their denomination and religious beliefs, but by material and political considerations. It finds that Muslims are most favourable toward the EU due to their positive experiences in European contexts, whereas in contrast, Muslim citizens outside the EU are more skeptical toward the European Union due to sovereignty concerns and the lack of support from the EU and its member states. Such findings not only contribute to the research on social legitimacy of international organizations and international public opinion more generally, but also provide important suggestions for (European) policy makers regarding external and domestic policies. « (Verlagsbeschreibung)

What shapes Saudi attitudes toward the European Union (EU)? Previous research has only shed some light on attitudes towards the EU in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This article aims to extend this line of research by investigating Saudi perceptions of the EU in the context of Vision 2030s Strategic Partnership Programme that intends to push forward integration between Saudi Arabia and other regional blocs. Combining literature on Arab public opinion and perceptions of the EU, we argue that attitudes towards prominent countries such as Germany and the United States can serve as heuristics in the formation of Saudi EU attitudes. Moreover, traditional cosmopolitan factors may also have an impact. We empirically test our argument using data from the second wave of the Arab Barometer and an original survey carried out at the King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM), Saudi Arabia. Our findings confirm that Saudi EU perceptions seem to be informed by their view of the United States but especially of Germany. Having provided evidence on Saudi attitudes toward the EU, we discuss theoretical and methodological implications emanating from our research.
attitudes, European Union, Saudi Arabia, Germany, heuristic, Vision 2030

AbstractA growing body of survey research shows that the European Union (EU) has a relatively benign image around the world, except among Arab populations. What informs Arab citizens' sceptical attitudes toward the European Union (EU)? Combining literature on Arab public opinion and perceptions of the EU, we argue that Arab citizens' feelings about the EU are influenced most prominently by their desire for sovereignty. Moreover, traditional utilitarian and cue‐taking mechanisms should also impact Arab EU attitudes. We empirically test our argument using data from the third wave of the Arab Barometer (AB). Our findings confirm that Arab citizens' EU views seem to be informed by their desire for sovereignty, as well as economic considerations and trust in domestic elites. Having provided evidence on Arab opinions about the EU, we discuss relevant theoretical and methodological directions for future research.

This article examines how Western foreign policy opinion reacts to the perceived Islamic character of foreign actors. Studies show that the target actor's dominant religion is a key ingredient in foreign policy opinion: Western audiences react more hostilely to "Muslim" than "Christian" targets. Yet, actors differ not only in which world religion they belong to but also how that religion is politicized by themselves and by others. We argue that Islam can be politicized in three major ways—via Islamic rhetoric, policies, and labels—that shape foreign policy attitudes. To examine our claims, we field a survey experiment in which we attach common Islamic rhetoric ("Allahu Akbar"), policies ("Shari'a law"), and/or labels ("Islamist") to a foreign actor in the context of the Syrian civil conflict. We find that these cues strongly harm attitudes toward the actor, and the results vary widely by type. Indeed, the Shari'a policy cue does the most damage to attitudes, emotions, and preferences toward the actor. Moreover, the Islamic cues reinforce each other in fueling these fearful reactions and are particularly potent on conservative citizens. These results paint a richer picture of how out-group religious cues influence foreign policy attitudes.

In this case study, we use a recent study of Islam and foreign policy opinion as an opportunity to investigate the process of designing and conducting survey experiments in Political Science and International Relations. We explore a number of issues in the design, execution, and analysis phases of experimental research, including navigating concerns about the realism, strength, and timing of experiments, piloting experiments for meaningful feedback, using Amazo?s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) as an experimental research platform, and analyzing and reporting experimental results effectively. Major themes in the case study include considering the participants experience in an experimental study, and piloting and testing experiments carefully before collecting any data.

« This book analyses the attitudes of Muslim citizens toward international and regional actors. In essence, the project examines whether Muslim public opinion is in favor of the current international order and if there is an ideal type of international governance perceived by Muslim citizens. The author connects the analysis to the literature of international public opinion and to the research on social legitimacy of international and global governance. It is ideal for scholarly audiences interested in Islamic, International and Global Governance Studies. « (Verlagsbeschreibung)