The National Democratic Institute (NDI) has released its latest wave of national survey results in Ukraine. The most recent round of research, completed in December 2019, shows an optimistic and hopeful Ukraine with citizens expressing a clear desire to engage in politics. Across the country, and in every demographic group, Ukrainians continue to be united in the importance of Ukraine becoming a fully functioning democracy, with 81 percent of respondents sharing that view.
NDI surveys public opinion to help Georgian stakeholders diagnose and address issues of public concern by providing accurate, unbiased and statistically-sound data. This poll aims to capture the most relevant information to foster the development of responsive policies and governance. A wide range of leaders from across the political spectrum have reported that the polls are important to their work and encourage continued polling.
Iraqi perceptions of their government and leaders go from bad to worse. A third round of focus groups indicated that the window of opportunity for the new government is quickly shutting, and that as time goes by, citizens grow increasingly frustrated with a lack of responsiveness from their leaders. Focus group participants characterized the government as deaf to their concerns, politically divided, solely self-interested, and lacking the capacity and willingness to address their problems.
A national survey conducted in Iraq more than a year after the withdrawal of American troops reveals increasing divisions among the country’s ethnic and religious groups. While the national government made progress on providing basic services in some regions of the country, that progress is largely overshadowed by rising concerns about sectarianism and, with it, security. Additionally, relations between Baghdad and Iraq’s Kurdish region remain sour and are even worsening.
In a public opinion survey of 4,000 respondents conducted by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in late June 2010, the frustration of the Iraqi people with the prolonged negotiations over the formation of a new government was evident. The poll also showed that a large majority of Iraqi citizens believed that the country was heading in the wrong direction.
Focus groups conducted in January suggest that, although Iraqis continued to have an optimistic view toward their country’s democracy, they had significant grievances about the lack of job opportunities and services that they expected from the government. Iraqis continued to question the self-interested motives of the political elites and pointed to administrative corruption and government appointments as prime examples of politicians putting their own interests ahead of the people’s.
Despite the ongoing security threats, the sluggish economy, lower oil prices, and continued sectarian tensions, the new Haider al-Abadi government has an encouraging level of support from the Iraqi people according to a national survey conducted from December 2014 to January 2015. This confidence in the Abadi government, which spans religious sects, is fragile, though, and depends largely on the ability of Abadi to deliver solutions in the near future.
Iraq entered a critical period as citizens struggle with economic insecurity and increasingly felt ignored by the political class. With the withdrawal of all U.S. troops, a lack of confidence in the Iraqi government’s ability to run the country—creating jobs, providing basic services, and security—threatened to imperil the fledgling democracy.
A round of focus groups reveal deep societal tensions that hinder support for the new government, an economy that is struggling under heavy structural burdens like high taxes, and a pervasive and underlying fear of ISIS and its origins. Yet there are encouraging signs of cross-sect optimism for new leaders, and strong calls for unity.