In the modern states of the world the governments and political institutions always have a close look at the public opinion and variations in it after major policies and political changes and they use the same to guarantee their success and effectiveness of their policies. Moreover, the best use of public opinion comes at the time before the elections and mostly makes the political parties take important decisions before the elections are finalized.
It is difficult to say what public opinion is as it is not possible that all the citizens in a society should have coherent and unanimous opinion regarding the changes and realities and socio-political life of the society. It, at the same time, is not necessarily the opinion of the majority as there are possibilities that majority may promote its own interests and may neglect the interests of the minority. In true sense public opinion is the considered opinion of an effective majority of citizens based on the ideal of general well-being and progress of the community as a whole.
Public opinion is formed both by relatively permanent circumstances and by temporary influences. Among the former are the ideas that characterize the popular culture of a given place at a given time. Permanent circumstances, like race, religion, economic status, geographical location and educational level can strongly influence the opinions of an individual or a particular group about many subjects. Certain temporary factors also affect the public's attitudes.
Among these are the impact of current events, the opinions of influential or authoritative persons, the effect of the mass communication and the concerted campaigns of public relations professionals. Public opinion is gauged through the public polls
Opinion polls are generally accepted as useful tools by business, the mass media, government and academic research, beside the political organizations. In business, polls are used to test consumers' preferences and to discover what it is about a product that gives it appeal. Response to commercial polls aids in planning marketing and advertising strategies and in making changes in a product to increase its sales.
In politics, polls are used to obtain information about voters' attitudes toward issues and candidates, to put forward candidates with winning potential, and to plan campaigns. Polling organizations have also been successful in predicting the outcome of elections. In addition, by polling voters on Election Day, it is often possible to determine the probable winner even before the voting booths close.
Newspapers, magazines, radio and television are heavy users of public opinion polling information, especially political information that helps to predict elections or gauge the popularity of government officials and candidates. The public's attitude toward various social, economic and international issues is also considered newsworthy. On the other hand governments use opinion polls to tap public sentiment about issues of interest. In addition, government agencies use polling methodology to determine unemployment rates, crime rates and other social and economic indicators.
For the better and positive public opinion it is necessary that the agencies, like press, educational institutions, radio, television and cinema, the political parties and legislature, that play a dominant role in the formation and changing of public opinion, must be developed and they should be made as much democratic as possible.
If the nature of the public opinion in Afghanistan is studied closely, there are two basic drawbacks. The first one is that the public opinion in the country is not based on the careful and scientific analysis; rather it is mostly based on biases, propaganda, sentiments, rumors and whims, which show that the civil society is not nourished appropriately in the country.
The second drawback is no doubt the pessimism found in the public opinion, which is the outcome of the lack of trust on political system and the government and their future. The lengthy history of instability and disturbances in the country and the repeated mistakes of the authorities to counter them have made the serious minds think very negatively of them and they have no hope that they will be able to shoulder the responsibility of providing a better future to the country.