Twelve years a slave? Ennahdha's constrained (ir)responsibility in post-revolutionary Tunisia (original) (raw)
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Tunisian Democratic Transition: What Role for Political Islamists in Reconstructing Tunisia?
Trajectories of Change in Post-2011 MENA: Challenges and Prospects (ed.) Lochen Lobah and Hamza Tayebi, Morocco, Rabat: Hanns Seidel Foundation, 2017
Contrary to the mainstream scholarship on persistent authoritarianism and ‘Arab exceptionalism’, the year 2011 witnessed a set of revolts that broke out in Tunisia and spread to other Arab countries in the region. These revolts raised many doubts and questions on the existing literature on this region. To some political scientists, the fundamental question arose as regards to whether the Arab revolts could be handled within a fourth wave of democratization or these revolts indicate a temporary breakup from the long-entrenched authoritarian regimes. Six years after these uprisings, Tunisia proved to be the only country that moved towards democratization among the countries swept by the Arab uprisings. In the post-authoritarian Tunisia, despite several actors’ engagement and a vibrant multiparty politics, much of the credit could be attributed to political Islamists who have played a critical role in the political transformation of the country. In the first election held after Ben Ali’s fall, Ennahda Party, borne out of an underground political Islamist movement that was for long suppressed under Ben Ali regime, gained an electoral victory. However, unlike the other Islamist movements in the region, Ennahda leadership’s decisions, priorities and preferences contributed to the success of the Tunisian transition, to a great extent. In that respect, this paper takes a closer look at the peculiarities of Ennahda movement, its historical evolution and at critical moments how the party leadership’s farsighted vision contributed to democratic transition in Tunisia.
When Islamists Lose: The Politicization of Tunisia's Ennahda Movement
The Middle East Journal, 2018
This article is a case study of how Tunisia's Islamist party, the Ennahda Movement, responded to new political opportunities that opened up after the 2011 Arab uprisings. It argues that Ennahda chose to make a hard-to-reverse commitment to politicization in the pursuit of electoral legitimacy, as protection from repression, and for fear of marginalization. The article demonstrates how the context of a democratic transition exposed internal debates within the movement over ideology, strategy, and organizational structure, ultimately dislocating the relationship between political ambitions and the religious social movement.
Beyond Ghannouchi: Islamism and social change in Tunisia
O n October 23, 2011, for the first time since independence in 1956, Tunisians were called to the polls in free and transparent elections. They were to choose 217 members of a Constituent Assembly that for a year would play a double role: drafting a new constitution and governing the country.
2019
Tunisia’s post-revolution democratic transition is the subject of a large literature and draws attention for its relative success and its ongoing debates and challenges. This thesis analyzes the Tunisian political party Ennahda, particularly its history and behavior, in order to develop a framework for understanding the contextual basis for contemporary policies and actions. In particular, the thesis answers the following questions: What does Ennahda seek to achieve as a party? How is Ennahda impeded from achieving its goals? How is Ennahda acting to overcome challenges in an effort to reach its desired ends? The thesis first determines the party’s goals by analyzing party media, election data, and a variety of other sources. Following the explication of goals, the thesis discusses the roots of present-day opposition to Ennahda by exploring the party’s historical relationship to the Tunisian political establishment, regional political movements, and the 2011 revolution. Finally, the thesis explores a method for understanding recent party actions as comprising a strategy to achieve goals in light of opposition. It does so by analyzing a number of party decisions and policies, as well as party rhetoric. The thesis concludes that Ennahda is taking action by emphasizing its Tunisian identity, moving away from political Islam, and adopting moderate political strategies in an ongoing effort to overcome obstacles and achieve party goals.
Convince, Coerce, or Compromise? Ennahda's Approach to Tunisia's Constitution (2014)
2014
After two years and four drafts, Tunisia’s new constitution was finally approved on January 26, 2014 – the first constitution freely created by a democratic assembly in the Arab world. During the drafting process, many questions were raised about the Islamist Ennahda party's role in writing the new constitution. Did Ennahda and its supporters pursue an aggressive Islamist agenda on matters such as sharia, blasphemy and gender equality? If not, what debates and divisions within the party allowed it to make the necessary compromises and concessions that helped shape the final document? In a new Analysis Paper by the Brookings Doha Center, Monica L. Marks calls for a more nuanced understanding of Ennahda and how it has operated in the Tunisian political scene. Drawing on extensive field research and interviews with Tunisian political figures and activists, Marks argues that Ennahda should be understood as a party of evolving positions and internal debate, rather than an Islamist monolith unwilling to give ground on key issues. While not absolving Ennahda of its mistakes and missteps since the revolution, Marks calls on Tunisian actors and the international community to understand the vulnerabilities and challenges that the party, along with the rest of Tunisia’s political actors, faces in working to shape Tunisia’s future.
The Tunisian Ennahdha Party in transition from " Islamic Democracy " to " Democratic Islam "
For the first time, three Islamist parties took power in the southern shore of the Mediterranean in 2012. The so called Arab spring seems to have given a big opportunity for Islamists to come back to the political scene in different countries around the Arab region. As a consequence, the subject of political Islam and Democracy gained again saliency in the media. The overall image that emerges from the “Arab spring” is negative. But, amazingly enough, the Tunisian Ennahdha Party played a key role in the success of the Tunisian Democratic transition. That is why it is very interesting to take a closer look at the evolution of Ennahdha within the Tunisian Democratic transition. In this paper, in which we rely not only on written sources but also on interviews conducted personally with prominent political actors in the Tunisian scene, we hold that while traditional Islamism is not compatible with Democracy, at the same it is not static. Political Islam is changing and could get democratised in a liberal political environment. The result of the study is that the relationship between Democracy and political Islam depends on the degree of freedom in each country. In dictatorships, the Islamists intend to Islamise Democracy according to the Nativistic paradigm and use it as a weapon against anti-Islamist dictators. But in democracies, the Islamists intend to democratise Islam to adapt themselves to the new political environment. From this perspective, the Ennahdha Party experience in the Tunisian Democratic transition can serve as an example in other Arab countries where the political transition seems to be in a standoff such as in Libya, Egypt, Yemen and Syria.
The Tunisian Revolution and Democratic Transition; The Role of al-Nahḍah
The Tunisian Revolution and Democratic Transition; The Role of al-Nahḍah, 2021
Drawing on the history of post-independence Tunisia, the book studies the evolution of al-Nahḍah as a political party in Tunisia and its role in a protracted struggle to shape the post-authoritarian order along democratic lines. It explores al-Nahḍah's relationship with the Tunisian state, society and beyond that resulted in shaping its fluctuating expressions of ideology and practices. State repression, political participation, or internal differentiation (among other factors) place an Islamic movement (in this case al-Nahḍah) in such a situation that demands a perpetual self re-evaluation as well as implementation of ideology, objectives, and political programmes. The study explains how the socio-political setting in Tunisia demanded various ideologically opposite currents (Islamic, liberal, or leftist) to endure cross-ideological cooperation either to contest authoritarian regimes or to engage in the political process. It more importantly analyzes the trajectory of a gradual democratization process in the country and provides evidence explaining the impact and importance of a vibrant civil society, building alliances, and sharing of power. The book provides comparative analytical attention to the primary sources on these issues to create a critical historiography. It thus adds to the body of literature on the state, society, and politics in the MENA region and particularly targets students, scholars, and social scientists interested in understanding the nature of power and politics in Tunisia and beyond.
Politicians or Preachers? What Ennahda’s Transformation Means for Tunisia
2019
Last August, Noureddine Khademi, a former religious affairs minister and an important member of Tunisia’s leading Islamist party, Ennahda, led a large protest in front of the country’s parliament. A coalition named the National Coordination for the Protection of the Quran, the Constitution, and Equitable Growth, had mobilized the demonstrators to protest a report on individual rights drafted by the Commission on Individual Freedoms and Equality, a presidential commission better known by its French acronym COLIBE.