Voters Expect More Of The Same Under New Saudi King
Few U.S. voters think Saudi Arabia will become a more liberated society following the passing of King Abdullah and the quick succession of his half-brother, King Salman. While fewer voters view the kingdom as an enemy of the United States these days, they criticize its handling of Islamic terrorism and think it gets away with too many human rights abuses.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 22% of Likely U.S. Voters think it is at least somewhat likely that Saudi Arabia will become a freer and more democratic society over the next few years. Sixty-one percent (61%) see those changes as unlikely. This includes just two percent (2%) who think Saudi Arabia will be a more open society and 18% who think that’s Not At All Likely. A sizable 17% are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
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The survey of 800 Likely Voters was conducted on January 23-24, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
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