It’s been five years since the Arab Spring revolution and in those five years, the Arab world has been rocked by uprisings and more. Now with a terror outfit like Islamic State controlling the futures of countries and thousands of men, bombing and killing hundreds across the world, the future may seem dire.
Which is why the news that around 50 percent of Arab youth see the caliphate as the biggest problem facing the Middle East may come as a surprise. Supporters of IS have made it sound like most Arab men, especially the youth, were followers and that they would soon be a part of their growing army.
The 2016 Arab Youth Survey has changed all that. Last year 19 percent of Arab youth said that they might serve IS. That number is now down to 13 percent. The biggest factors that led many youth to go to IS was that they found a lack of jobs at home and there was a sense of disillusionment that comes with financial and employment problems. But most youth seem to be looking at the growing stability in their regions as a good thing. There is surely hope yet for the Arab countries and their future, especially when more youth are now seeing IS as a disruptive threat.
