Regional Opinion on Syria

Pew’s survey of regional opinion on the conflict in Syria finds a near-unanimous preference in three Arab countries that Assad give up power, but also finds mostly limited support for military intervention by Arab states and very little for intervention by Western governments:

The farther removed from Syria’s immediate vicinity they are, respondents tend to be more supportive of coercive measures. Among Syria’s immediate neighbors, support for additional sanctions and Arab military intervention is highest in Jordan. Overall, support for sanctions and all forms of military action is highest in Tunisia. The greatest support for Arab military intervention comes from respondents in countries whose soldiers would not be directly involved in it. Turkish and Lebanese respondents are the least anti-Assad in this survey, and their support for sanctions and military intervention is significantly lower than elsewhere. Lebanese responses break down predictably along sectarian lines. Lebanese Christian respondents are more divided, and a substantial majority of them opposes Assad.

There are minorities of respondents in Turkey and Tunisia that support Western military intervention, but everywhere else there is virtually no support for this. Outside of Tunisia and Egypt to a lesser extent, there is also no groundswell of popular support for Arab military intervention. There is virtually no constituency in most of these countries for direct Western involvement in the conflict. If Western governments do become more directly involved in Syria, they should not expect it to improve their reputations in the surrounding region.