Social identity, confidence in institutions, and youth: Evidence from the Arab Spring

Abstract

Objective During the political transition, people lose their confidence in their leaders, faith in the so-called “democratic” elections, and no longer trust their political institutions. The issue of trust in institutions is highly regarded in social sciences research, as it reflects people's perceptions and valuation of how well their institutions are functioning. Therefore, the main objective of this article is to investigate the case of the Middle East and North African Region following the Arab Spring uprisings that began in 2011. Specifically, the relationship between youth self-perception identity and confidence in various institutions is examined in the post-Arab Spring era. Method We use a microlevel data set extracted from the SAHWA Youth Survey conducted in 2016. The sample consists of around 10,000 randomly and nationally representative youth aged 15 to 29 years. The survey includes 2000 observations from Lebanon, 1970 observations from Egypt, 2000 from Tunisia, and 2036 and 1854 from Algeria and Morocco, respectively. The empirical analysis is carried out through the ordered probit model. Results Controlling for a comprehensive set of socioeconomic characteristics, we find that religious associations are not confined to people who belong to an Arab, global, national, or even religious identity. Young people who identify with citizens of the world only seem to confide in the police. Additionally, Arab identity is correlated with absolute positive confidence in the elections. Coherent with previous literature, we note that a nationalistic identity increases politicians’ and administrations’ confidence despite the domestic turmoil. We also find that religious identity is negatively correlated with all institutions except elections, including religious associations. Conclusion This research highlights that policies that are up-to-date and secure gender equality may create a modernist atmosphere that allows people to retrieve trust and confidence in the institutions and administrations in the countries.