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In the last two years the Arab World has witnessed popular uprisings against long-ruling dictators. The Middle Eastern political status quo has been challenged by an “enlightened” young elite protesting in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Syria and Yemen calling for a more prosperous future and the advancement of political and civil rights. Much has been written on the factors which attributed to the lack of democracy in the Arab World such as the role of religion, the existence of neo-patriarchal state and society, charismatic leaders, the role of the armed forces, the economic context (rentier economy), or foreign factors (e.g., US foreign policy during the 1990s). All of these scientific explanations showed Arab regimes as non-democratic, though politically stable systems, failing to point out the economic and political tensions within these societies, which erupted in massive protests. These kinds of protests are relatively not new to the Middle East. The case of Egyptian bread riots in 1977 is one example to show how the discontent against the economic restriction initiated by the Sadat regime resulted in mass protests. However, at that time – unlike in 2011 – the Egyptian regime remained stable, and Sadat was successful in silencing the protesters with economic rewards and with launching a gradual and limited political liberalization process. It was unthinkable before 2011 that the widespread daily usage of Internet sites (such as Facebook, Twitter and other blogs) helped to force down dictators such as Mubarak or Ben Ali. It is widely discussed among Middle East experts that the outcome of these uprisings is still not visible. It is expected by many Western leaders that the fourth wave of worldwide demo­cra­ti­za­tion has arrived, which will completely transform Middle Eastern political regimes. Others are more critical saying that the changes in Egypt or Tunisia do not affect the main fundamental pillars of these regimes as the role of the armed forces or the influence of the old guard is still the reality on the ground. A reconfiguration of the authoritarian structure of Arab regimes is the most plausible scenario. The aim of this paper is to place Islamist parties/movements in these changes and to show how they reacted to recent uprisings. Several authors warn that Islamist parties can benefit from the democratic elections and can heavily influence the transition process (decisions on election law or constitutional changes, etc.). The author argues that an Islamist threat or an ‘Islamist tsunami’ is not the real challenge of these regimes. The paper draws on the example of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood – the oldest and most important Islamist movement in the modern Middle East – wishing to show the complexity of Egyptian politics.

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The-role-of-islamist-movements-in-the-arab-spring

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2014.07.27.