Humanitarianism vs. territoriality: explaining Egyptian public opinion on Palestinian forced migration

Creative Commons License

Şimşek Ademi A.

FRONTIERS IN POLITICAL SCIENCE, no.8, pp.1-11, 2026 (Scopus)

Abstract

The Palestinian question remains one of the most critical issues in international

relations, combining humanitarian, security, and normative dimensions. Recent

debates in the discipline highlight a “normative turn,” emphasizing that foreign

policy is shaped not only by power relations but also by societal values, identities,

and public perceptions. Within this framework, this study examines Egyptian

public attitudes toward Palestinians through the lenses of ideology, religion, and

media consumption. The analysis is based on an online survey conducted in 2025

with 600 participants and employs OLS and binary logistic regression models.

The findings indicate that 78.5 percent of respondents support Palestinians’ right

to international asylum, while 62 percent believe they should remain in their

own territories. These seemingly contradictory views reflect a balance between

humanitarian concern and national-ideological sensitivity. Ideological orientation,

religious identity, and media consumption emerge as stronger determinants than

demographic variables. Conservative respondents tend to endorse the “remain in

the homeland” discourse, whereas liberal and centrist participants show greater

support for asylum rights. The study provides an empirical perspective on public

opinion and the normative turn by examining how societal values and media are

associated with humanitarian and sovereignty-related debates in the Middle East.

KEYWORDS

Egyptian public opinion, forced migration, ideology, Palestinian question, territoriality