Suchergebnisse

This article discusses the emergence, development and trajectory of ISIS in Iraq through the lenses of Social Movement Theory. It deploys the political process model and outlines both structural and agency factors. The article argues that the Sunni regions of Iraq developed a separate political community after 2003, against the backdrop of the sectarian politics that the coalition of Shia parties that supported the al-Maliki government in Baghdad were perceived to be pursuing. The political process unfolded in three phases from 2003 to 2014. While Sunni political parties tried to compromise with the al-Maliki government in 2010, the latter's uncompromising stance created the context for more radical forces to come on the scene. In 2013, Baathists and Salafi-jihadists formed a revolutionary front, which led to a generalised uprising in the Sunni regions of the country. The article explains how ISIS was able to take advantage of the political opportunities on the ground and provides analytical insights for its transformation from an isolated organisation to a hegemonic revolutionary force.

Abstract
Tunisia's Islamist movement Ennahda has announced a separation of political and religious work, apparently reinforcing a "post-Islamist" argument that Islamic parties have left behind religious mobilization. However, the boundary between religious and political fields is highly porous. We ask why the distinction between religious and political activism remains a point of ambiguity within Islamism. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 48 men and women who participated in the movement in the 1970s and 1980s in Tunis and Sousse, we develop a microlevel explanation of Islamist mobilization. We argue that religious and social Islamist activism is replete with political intent, which worked through three mechanisms: a counter-hegemonic ideology, an activist engagement in social transformation, and a formal organization. These findings add empirical insights to the case of Ennahda, provide leverage in explaining the politicization of Salafist movements, and underscore the legacy of asymmetric party capacities in shaping outcomes in a democratic transition.

For scholars, policy-makers and casual observers, there is no doubt that Morocco has undergone an impressive transformation process since Mohammed VI came to power in 1999. The country projects an image of liberal-democratic modernity and socio-economic progress that the international community is happy to go along with. But at the heart of Moroccan modernization lies a glaring paradox: despite two decades of reforms, the dissatisfaction of ordinary citizens with the way the system works has been consistently high, and a number of socio-economic and political indicators do not support the regime's claim that the country has democratised or is democratising. This article examines the country's political system through the reformist process – political, economic and social – that began in the 2000s, continued with the constitutional changes of 2011 and culminated with the two PJD-led governments that followed the parliamentary elections of 2011 and 2016. In particular, this study examines the reformist drive in the context of the inter-paradigm debate between democratisation and authoritarian resilience. We employ four criteria to determine to what extent Morocco has democratised: the accountability of decision-makers, the participation of a plurality of voices in the formulation of policies, the degree of individual freedoms and the protection of human rights. This article concludes that the reformist process is simply a narrative the regime has adopted to fend off international criticism and to reconfigure domestic institutions. The fundamentally authoritarian nature of the regime has not changed, and the dominant institutional role that the monarch – unelected and unaccountable – plays undermines all claims of democratisation.

For scholars, policy-makers and casual observers, there is no doubt that Morocco has undergone an impressive transformation process since Mohammed VI came to power in 1999. The country projects an image of liberal-democratic modernity and socio-economic progress that the international community is happy to go along with. But at the heart of Moroccan modernization lies a glaring paradox: despite two decades of reforms, the dissatisfaction of ordinary citizens with the way the system works has been consistently high, and a number of socio-economic and political indicators do not support the regime's claim that the country has democratised or is democratising. This article examines the country's political system through the reformist process - political, economic and social - that began in the 2000s, continued with the constitutional changes of 2011 and culminated with the two PJD-led governments that followed the parliamentary elections of 2011 and 2016. In particular, this study examines the reformist drive in the context of the inter-paradigm debate between democratisation and authoritarian resilience. We employ four criteria to determine to what extent Morocco has democratised: the accountability of decision-makers, the participation of a plurality of voices in the formulation of policies, the degree of individual freedoms and the protection of human rights. This article concludes that the reformist process is simply a narrative the regime has adopted to fend off international criticism and to reconfigure domestic institutions. The fundamentally authoritarian nature of the regime has not changed, and the dominant institutional role that the monarch - unelected and unaccountable - plays undermines all claims of democratisation.

"The article examines the emergence of Tunisian Salafism in the aftermath of the fall of the Ben Ali regime and analyses its impact on the on-going process of democratization. Building on primary sources and original field work, the article looks at the challenge that Salafism represents for a successful outcome of the Tunisian transition to democracy, while arguing that its internal complexity and differences should also be highlighted. The Tunisian transition is a unique laboratory of political dynamics in the Arab world and the way in which Salafism interacts with other political and social actors influences both its ideological tenets and strategies." (author's abstract)