The Social Research Center (SRC) regularly
studies and researches changes in the state and society, observes trends, new
approaches, dynamics in society, and prepares references for presentation
public, as well as government agencies.
STM regularly conducts a public poll/survey of
the President's activities in a special issue of Trust Index and conducts a
scientific analysis of President Ilham Aliyev's activities, the place of his
large-scale economic, social, and foreign policy course in our national life,
and the goals set.
Public opinion research reveals that in the
last 5 months, political leadership against the global coronavirus pandemic,
the ability of the state to mobilize potential resources, forces, and
capabilities, maintaining public trust and confidence has become a key
condition for ensuring national unity.
The Social Research Center also published a
large-scale survey on "The state's anti-crisis policy against the pandemic
in public opinion." The anti-crisis strategy adopted by the Azerbaijani
government in the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the
assessment of relevant public policy based on public opinion, plays an
important role in planning government decisions for the coming period.
The analytical report assesses the
government's response to urgent social support measures in the near future in
order to reduce the negative impact of the pandemic on macroeconomic stability,
employment, and entrepreneurship in the country, based on public opinion.
Z. Oruj also mentioned that the coronavirus
pandemic in the world, it covers the economy, social welfare, internal and
external relations, in short, all spheres of public life. The previous months
have shown that the leaders of countries have reacted sharply to the threat of
a pandemic at different times and in different forms, both from historical and
political figures and from modern professional leaders. Now, we certainly see
the special demeanor of societies.
They ask:
• To what extent have leaders been able
to ensure national unity in times of crisis?
• To what extent do they have managed to
maintain the unity of the central government, i.e. the state, within the
framework of national and international cooperation, taking into account the
fate of their nation?
• Were the leaders responsible for
protecting the health and security of the people able to ensure their
monolithic rather than blaming the various state, government, and local
authorities?
• The new socio-psychological and
political changes in the behavior of each nation, individual - in most cases
against the background of the awakening of nationalism and historical memory,
choosing the course of a gradual exit from the pandemic, economic, social life,
jobs, and employment, in short, normalization measures. Was it possible to
maintain public order and peace? ”
The Chairman of SRC specifically mentioned that
the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan was able to take on all the threats
to bring his nation out of the biggest trials in world history. He showed a
strong character, a strong will, and therefore his charisma and prestige remain
strong among the people.
This authority is the main guarantee of security,
economic, political, and moral renewal, the rule of law, and, most importantly,
the policy of building a new government on a larger scale than in 2019. As in
the last 5 months, Mehriban Aliyeva has stood shoulder to shoulder with the
President in all spheres of state and national life.
Zahid Oruj also noted the study and monitoring
of the dynamics of public opinion on the activities of the President of the
Republic of Azerbaijan were first initiated by the Social Research Center: "The
next report is the third in this series, the second in 2020 covers the quarter
- April-June. The analytical report prepared based on a sociological survey,
monitors the public attitude to the multifaceted activities of the President of
the country during this period, its dynamics, and analysis compared to the
previous period.
You will see from the report that the
countries that have resolutely passed the secular test in this period will be
strengthened by the reforms required by the new reality. On the other hand,
other groups will find themselves in a difficult position due to their weak
leadership, poverty, instability, and economic stagnation. Another worrying
point is that the number of countries in the second group will be higher than
the first.
Based on the results of the public opinion
poll, we confidently say that Azerbaijan is among the successful and tested
countries.
The reason for this is that in the year
since the beginning of the pandemic in the world, researchers and experts have
identified three key factors that determine the success of the pandemic:
2. Potential resources, power, and capabilities of the state;
3. Existence of public trust and
confidence.
In countries that have three pillars of
these "success factors" that will help them emerge from the pandemic
crisis and further develop, political leaders trusted by citizens can neutralize
the blows of the pandemic by establishing flexible strategic governance. In
societies where there are mutual trust and national unity, these qualities
create a completely new value against the background of the coronavirus,
becoming a national force.
In conclusion, the chairman of the SRC
said that during the pandemic, the countries were faced with political, moral,
and spiritual choices. When choosing whether to "save the health of
citizens or the economy," different countries made different choices. The
President of Azerbaijan stated that nothing can be more important than people's
lives. Thus, the priority is given by the Azerbaijani leadership to the health,
well-being, and security of its citizens as a strategic priority was one of the
most correct decisions made in the current situation.
In his speech, Deputy Chairman of the SRC
Board Elshad Mirbashir spoke about various aspects of the
"Trust Index" and said that one of the priorities of the President's
activities is army building. Of course, the special attention paid to the armed
forces is, above all, because our country is at war. The results of the survey
clearly showed that the population appreciates the activities of the President
in the field of military building:
New challenges and development goals at the international and national levels make it necessary to increase flexibility and efficiency in public administration. Personnel reforms as an important solution in this direction are always in the focus of the head of state. The personnel reforms implemented by the President are assessed by 53.9% of respondents as very effective, and by 32% as mainly effective. 6.5% of respondents do not consider personnel reforms effective. Personnel reforms implemented by the President have also played an effective role in increasing trust and confidence in him. Thus, 68.6% of the 24.6% of respondents, who expressed an increase in trust and confidence in the president, praised the personnel reforms. 2.6% of respondents, who expressed a decrease in trust and confidence, and 8% positively assessed the personnel reforms. 81.2% of those who consider the personnel reforms implemented by the President very effective, also support his initiatives in the fight against corruption. A significant part of those who negatively assess the personnel reforms - 74.3% - believe that it is right to prosecute officials who commit corruption.
New challenges and development goals at the
international and national levels make it necessary to increase flexibility and
efficiency in public administration.
"The fight against corruption in the
country has intensified, especially recently. One of the main goals of both
personnel reforms and institutional reforms is to prevent corruption. The
activity of the President in this direction was assessed by 56.1% of
respondents as very effective, and by 27.2% of respondents as effective. At the
same time, there are still some expectations in the fight against corruption.
Thus, 12.3% of respondents do not think that the work done in this direction is
very effective. 4.4% of respondents had difficulty expressing their views.
56.1% of respondents expressed a positive attitude to the activities carried
out in the fight against corruption, 36.5% said they trusted the Cabinet of
Ministers, and 33.4% - the Parliament.
E. Mirbashir mentioned the flexible
strategic steps taken by the President in the field of security and foreign
policy always attract attention. At this stage, Azerbaijan has been able to
establish a system of effective multifaceted cooperation, having a serious
position in the system of international relations. The majority of those polled
by the Social Research Center share this view. Thus, 54% of respondents
consider the President's activities in the field of security and foreign policy
very effective, 28.9% mainly effective. Those who disagree make up 6.5% of
respondents. There has been an increase in the percentage of those who have
difficulty responding in this direction. Thus, 10.7% of respondents had
difficulty answering the question about security and foreign policy activities.
Seymur Aliyev, Head of the Department of Socio-Economic
Analysis of the Social Research Center, mentioned that the decisions made in
the framework of strategies to combat crises caused by natural disasters (now
pandemics) are calculated in two stages. The study assesses the anti-crisis
strategy and relevant state policies of the Azerbaijani state in the fight
against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic based on public opinion. The study
of citizen opinion on anti-crisis policy based on complementary strategic
decisions and recommendations aims to ensure accountability and reference for
future decisions: "The analytical report aims to reduce the negative impact of
the state pandemic on macroeconomic stability, employment and entrepreneurship
soon. The attitude indicators of the urgent social support measures implemented
for the purpose are evaluated based on public opinion.
To achieve the aforementioned goals, the Social
Research Center conducted the following nationwide surveys, focused group
discussions, and analyzed the results of the research team to study public
opinion on the anti-crisis measures adopted and implemented by the Operational
Headquarters on different dates.
- The first stage (April 24-30, 2020). Study of
public attitudes to policy in the field of pandemic prevention and
strengthening of social welfare (sociological survey of 1212 respondents);
- The second stage (May 8-11, 2020). Survey of
public opinion to measure the satisfaction of beneficiaries of state social
support measures (sociological survey of 1212 respondents);
- The third stage (May 22-23, 2020) Study of
the attitude of the state to social support measures of those who lost their
jobs during the quarantine period as a special group (sociological survey with
124 out of 365 respondents);
- The fifth stage (July 3-7, 2020) Study of public attitudes to the measures applied in some cities and regions and the tightened quarantine regime in the framework of the fight against the pandemic (sociological survey conducted with 1212 respondents).
The head of the department emphasized that the
survey covered a total of 4,144 respondents in 5 (five) stages, covering Baku,
Absheron, Ganja-Gazakh, Sheki-Zagatala, Lankaran, Guba-Khachmaz, Karabakh,
Aran, and Mountainous Shirvan economic-geographical regions. The Nakhchivan
Autonomous Republic and the occupied regions were not included in the survey.
Because of the quarantine limitations, the survey was conducted by phone interviews. In addition, the modern survey program SurveyToGo was used.
The analysis is mainly prioritized in the
following areas:
- Study of public opinion on preventive
measures of the state in the fight against pandemics
- To study the impact of the special quarantine
regime on the daily life and income of the population
- Social support measures in the fight against
pandemics
- Measures related to the provision of products
and services during the special quarantine period
- Financial measures implemented in the
framework of pandemic control
- Measures related to exit from the special
quarantine regime
- International cooperation in the fight
against pandemics
Press Service of the Social Research Center
www.anews.az
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