World Order from the People’s Perspective in the Middle East: Quantitative Analysis of International Relations Perception and Cross-Border Mobility Ex

The Arab Spring demonstrated the crucial importance of understanding the political awareness and behavior of the general public. This book employs original survey data to examine the political attitudes, perceptions of international relations, and experiences and preferences related to cross-border migration among ordinary people in the Middle East. We have conducted a decade-long study of Middle East public opinion, utilizing two research concepts. The first is the political cognitive map, which constructs the international system, i.e., the relations among major powers, from public opinion data. The second is the experience and preferences of cross-border migration, which enables us to analyze the problems of immigration, refugees, and terrorist infiltration. Through these two research concepts, we have attempted to understand the order and dynamics of the Middle East region. This book opens new horizons for the study of Middle Eastern politics.

Shingo Hamanaka is a Professor of Middle East Politics at Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan. His research focuses on the strength of authoritarian regimes in the Middle East, public opinion and foreign policy issues in Israel, and Muslim migration from the Arab countries. His publications include articles on rally-round-the-flag effects in Israel, the role of digital media in Egypt, and Iraqi political mobilization in journals such as Democratization, Israel Affairs, Asian Journal of Comparative Politics, and Security and Democracy. He received his Ph.D. in political science from Kobe University, Japan.

Hiroyuki Aoyama is a Professor at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies in Japan. His research focuses on the politics, thought, and history of the contemporary Arab East region. His publications include Confused Syria (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 2012), Syrian Situation (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 2017), Stalemated Syria (Tokyo: TUFS Press, 2021), and Russia and Syria (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 2022). He also runs the website ＂Chronicles of the Arab Spring in Syria＂. He is the head of the Syria Friend Network @Japan (formerly Sadaqa Initiative) He received his Ph.D. from Hitotsubashi University, Japan.

Yutaka Takaoka is an independent research.er specializing in Syria. He received a Ph.D. in Area Studies from Sophia University (Tokyo, Japan) in 2011 and a B.A. from Waseda University (Tokyo, Japan) in 1998. He previously held the position of Chief Research Fellow at the Middle East Research Institute of Japan (2018-2019) and Political Attaché at the Embassy of Japan in Syria (2000-2003). His research has concentrated on the role of Syrian tribes in the contemporary political landscape. His most recent individual publication is entitled The Role of Tribes in Contemporary Syrian Politics and Society. An Analysis of Tribes in the Euphrates River Region and al-Jazeera Region (Tokyo: Sangen-sha 2012, in Japanese), Struggle with ＂War against Terrorism＂ (Tokyo: Tokyo University for Foreign Studies 2023, in Japanese), Syrian Conflict and Militias (Kyoto: Kouyou-shobou 2024, in Japanese).