Revisiting the moderation controversy with space and class: the Tunisian Ennahda

Abstract

What shapes political parties’ direction of change on the political spectrum? Under what conditions do Islamist movements moderate or shift towards a more radical stance? Drawing on the case of the Ennahda Party in Tunisia, I argue that transformation of the Islamist parties should be analysed on par with that of the secular parties, by focussing on the parties’ popular base and the target electorate rather than through a moderation–radicalisation framework. I find that Ennahda’s shift to Muslim democracy, self-defined as specialisation, is owed to their need to be backed by the new urban middle class in order to rule while maintaining the support of the rural and urban poor to come to power. Through field interviews conducted with the members of Tunisian political parties as well as union leaders and activists, I show that the secular parties are going through a similar process under the pressure of the spatial and class-related dynamics.

Keywords:

• Middle class
• moderation
• political Islam
• Ennahda
• party rebranding

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Sabri Sayarı, Can Cemgil, Cemil Boyraz, Berk Esen, Serpil Açıkalın and the anonymous referees for their valuable feedback. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 13th Pan-European Conference on International Relations of the European International Studies Association in 2019. I would like to thank Ian Bruff, Cemal Burak Tansel and the panel audience for their advice and comments. I wish to convey my gratitude to Sahar Ben Younes for accompanying me in the field as an interpreter. I thank Istanbul Bilgi University for both research funding and proofreading support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Here, the term ‘centrist’ is used in the sense of the position of the centre-right parties in the Muslim-majority countries, which entails a conservative interpretation of modernisation and tacit acceptance of the separation of the state and religious affairs, which recognises the cultural importance of religious values in the public sphere.

2 Interview, Ennahda, March 2019, Tunis.

3 Interview with one of the founders of Tahya Tounes, who previously served in Nidaa Tounes and Machrouu Tounes.

4 Interview with a socialist activist and academician, October 2018.

5 Interviews with a trade union activist, a deputy from Mouvement Echaab, and a deputy from the Democratic Patriots’ Movement.

6 Interviews with member of Popular Front, former member of Rassemblement Constitutionnel Démocratique and Nidaa Tounes, member of the executive committee of UGTT, and member of the Democratic Patriots’ Movement.

7 Interview, member of Al-Iradat.

8 Interview, Ennahda, central committee member.

9 Interview, Ennahda, founding member.

10 Interview with a leading member of the progressive wing of Ennahda.

11 Union activist.

12 Democratic Patriots’ Movement.

13 Interview, academic and union member.

14 Interview with an activist from the local branch of UGTT in Gabes.

15 Interview, former prime minister from Ennahda.

16 Popular Front.

17 Al Iradat.

18 Al Jomhouri.

19 The argument here is based on the analysis of the interviews conducted with politicians from the secular parties. A more comprehensive analysis of the transformation of the secular parties in the Muslim-majority parties might be an insightful dimension of future research.

20 Popular Front.

21 Interview with an activist from a left-wing civil society organisation.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hasret Dikici Bilgin

Hasret Dikici Bilgin is an Associate Professor of political science in the Department of International Relations of Istanbul Bilgi University. She focuses on class analysis in social movements, radicalisation, political parties, elections and the political elite. Among her recent publications are: ‘Social Conflicts and Politicised Cleavages in Turkey’, in Party Politics in Turkey: A Comparative Perspective (S. Sayarı, P. Ayan Musil and Ö. Demirkol, eds., 2018); ‘Turkey’s Ministerial Elites: The Growing Importance of Technical Expertise’, in Technocratic Ministers and Political Leadership in European Democracies (P. de Almeida and A. Costa Pinto, eds., 2018; with S. Sayarı); ‘The Obscurities of a Referendum Foretold: What We Know and Don’t Know about the 2017 Constitutional Amendments in Turkey’ (Review of Middle East Studies, 2018; with E. Erdoğan); ‘Westernist Sceptics and Anti-Western Reformers in the Turkish Party System’ (Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 2016), ‘Types of Outcomes in Factional Rivalries: Lessons from Non-Democratic Parties in Turkey’ (International Political Science Review, 2017; with P. Ayan Musil); and ‘Paths to Power: The Making of Cabinet Ministers in Turkey’ (Parliamentary Affairs, 2011; with S. Sayarı). She acts as the principal researcher of Turkey for Horizon 2020 Project No. 959198, De-Radicalization in Europe and Beyond: Detect, Resolve, Re-integrate.