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Abstract
The success of processes of democratic change is often predicated on the moderation of anti-systemic and extremist parties. The literature on such parties argues that such moderation, namely the acceptance of democratic procedures, human rights, and a market economy, comes about through inclusion. This seems to be borne out when one analyses a number of Islamist parties having contributed to the progressive democratization of their respective countries. The Tunisian case, however, offers a different perspective on moderation. This article argues that it has been exclusion through repression and social marginalization that has led the Islamist party Ennahda to move from its extreme anti-systemic position of the 1970s to become the mainstream conservative party it is today.
Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to the two anonymous referees for their comments, which considerably improved the article. The authors are grateful to the Gerda Henkel Foundation for funding this research in the context of the programme “From Over-estimation to Under-estimation: The Trajectory of Political Islam in Five MENA Countries”.
Notes
Churchill, “Tunisia's Electoral Lesson.”
Hostrup Haugbølle and Cavatorta, “Beyond Ghannouchi.”
Lynch, “Tunisia's New al-Nahda.”
La Jeune Afrique, no. 2719, 17–23 February 2013.
Dahmani, “Tunisie, la laicité en danger.”
Ozzano, “The Many Faces.”
Hamid, “The Rise of the Islamists.”
Clark, “The Conditions of Islamist Moderation”; Schwedler, “Can Islamists Become Moderates?”
For example, see the cases of Morocco since the late 1990s, Jordan since the early 1990s, Yemen since reunification and Algeria since the mid-1990s. This partly applies to Egypt as well where the Muslim Brotherhood was allowed at times to participate in controlled elections.
Jaffrelot, “Refining the Moderation Thesis.”
Hafez, Why Muslims Rebel; Hamid, “The Islamist Response.”
Roy, “Les Islamistes.”
Stepan, “Tunisia's Transition.”
See for instance the interview with Mohammed Talbi, “Ennahda est un cancer.”
Masoud, “Are they Democrats?”
Allani, “The Islamists in Tunisia.”
Tamimi, Rachid Ghannouchi.
Rachid Ghannouchi is the current president of the party and its long-time leader. He was among the founding members and he is also recognized for his scholarly work on the relationship between Islam and democracy.
For a discussion on this issue see Kramer, “Islamist Notions.”
Hostrup Haugbølle and Cavatorta, “Will the Real Tunisian Opposition Please Stand Up?”
Interview with authors, Tunis, October 2011.
Torelli, Merone, and Cavatorta, “Salafism in Tunisia.”
Authors' interview with Rachid Ghannouchi, 30 October 2012.
Kausch, “Islamist-led Foreign Policies.”
Merone and Cavatorta, “Salafist Mouvance and Sheikh-ism.”
For a discussion of the relations between the West and Tunisia under Ben Ali, see Durac and Cavatorta, “Strengthening Authoritarian Rule.”
See, for instance, Mortimer, “Islamists, Soldiers and Democrats.”
Browers, Political Ideology; Cavatorta, “Civil Society.”
Browers, “Origins and Architects”; Clark, “Threats, Structures and Resources”; Abdelrahman, “With the Islamists?”
Roy, The Failure of Political Islam.
Schwedler, Faith in Moderation.
Clark, “The Conditions of Islamist Moderation.”
Wegner and Pellicer, “Left-Islamist Opposition Cooperation”; Ryan, “Political Opposition.”
Gurses, “Islamists, Democracy and Turkey”; Wegner, Islamist Opposition.
Karakaya and Yildirim, “Islamist Moderation.”
Hafez, “From Marginalisation to Massacres”; Hafez, Why Muslims Rebel; Hamid, “The Islamist Response.”
Torelli, “The ‘AKP Model’.”
Alexander, Tunisia.
Interview with authors, Tunis, 30 October 2012.
Interview with authors, Tunis, 29 October 2012.
Interview with Aymen Brayek, Ennahda student coordinator at Zitouna University, Tunis, 31 October 2012.
Authors' interview with Rachid Ghannouchi, 30 October 2012.
Ibid.
On the relationship between workers and Islamists see Alexander, “Opportunities, Organization and Ideas.”
Yousfi, “Ce syndicat.”
Authors' interview with Rachid Ghannouchi, 30 October 2012.
Penner Angrist, “Parties, Parliament.”
Interview with authors, Tunis, 30 October 2012.
Rachid Ghannouchi, interview in Arabic with Al Jazeera in the context of the programme “Sharia and Life.” Posted on 5 February 2012 and available on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWLkfAR6xiY.
Murphy, Economic and Political Change in Tunisia.
Anderson, “Political Pacts.”
Ottaway and Hamzawy, “Fighting on Two Fronts.”
Cook, “The Right Way”; Kraetzschmar, “Mapping Opposition Cooperation in the Arab World.”
Beau and Tuquoi, Notre Ami.
Interview with authors, Tunis, October 2011.
Alexander, Tunisia.
Authors' interview with Rachid Ghannouchi, 30 October 2012.