Islamist Mass Movements, External Actors and Political Change in the Arab World

208 Pages·2010·1.37 MB·English

Islamist Mass Movements,
External Actors and
Political Change in the Arab World

Islamist Mass Movements,
External Actors and
Political Change in the Arab World
A research report by
Centro Studi di Politica Internazionale (CeSPI),
the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA)
and Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI)
Contributors
Tawfiq Aclimandos, Rosa Balfour, Nathan Brown, Battistina Cugusi,
Philippe Droz-Vincent, Khaled Hroub, Miquel Pellicer, Daniela Pioppi, Eva Wegner
© International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance 2010
© Centro Studi di Politica Internazionale 2010
© Istituto Affari Internazionali 2010
Views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of International
IDEA, Centro Studi di Politica Internazionale and Istituto Affari Internazionali, or their
respective executive boards, governing bodies, and/or member states. This report is
independent of specific national or political interests.
Applications for permission to reproduce or translate all or any part of this publication
should be made to:
International IDEA
SE -103 34 Stockholm
Sweden
Centro Studi di Politica Internazionale
Via d’Aracoeli 11
00186 Rome
Italy
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Via Angelo Brunetti 9
00186 Rome
Italy
Graphic design by: Bulls Graphics, Sweden
Printed by: Bulls Graphics, Sweden
ISBN: 978-91-85724-80-2
Preface
Over the past few decades the role of Islamist movements and parties in the internal
political life and foreign relations of Middle Eastern and Northern African countries
has attracted increasing attention from policymakers, scholars and experts.
Historically, Islamist movements developed out of a long and complex political,
philosophical and cultural tradition, advocating a return to the true spirit of Islam.
Some of these movements have deep historical roots dating back to the beginning
of the 20th century, which have a basis in a reaction to colonial cultural, social and
political influences. Islamism has acquired renewed support in the past two decades,
as a reaction to the political crisis in the region and some aspects of relations between
the region and the rest of the world. In a way, Islamism has replaced nationalism and
socialism as a mass ideology of the 21st century.
International public opinion towards Islamist movements and parties has been
influenced by dramatic events such as the terrorist attacks on the United States of
11 September 2001. These have tended to overshadow the fact that many Islamists
pursue their goals through peaceful political activity.
Islamist movements and parties have demonstrated the ability to develop effective
political strategies, elaborate platforms for action with popular appeal and set up
efficient organizational structures designed both for political and social work, thereby
mobilizing large constituencies. The growing support that such movements are
attracting is apparent from the impact they have on social customs in many countries,
halting and reversing trends towards secularism and changing the way large sections of
the population dress and behave. In most countries of the region, Islamist movements
represent the only viable opposition to existing authoritarian regimes. Their vast
popular support makes it important to study the attitudes of such movements to
national institutions and the international system, as well as the extent to which their
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policy has been influenced by external actors – principally the USA and the European
Union (EU).
Centro Studi di Politica Internazionale (CeSPI), International IDEA and Istituto
Affari Internazionali (IAI), with the generous support of the Italian Government,
Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena and the German Marshall Fund of the United
States, joined in a research effort to provide an overview of the strategies and policies
of Islamist movements in the internal and external political life of their respective
countries. The research was articulated in case studies in selected countries with
different political and economic, internal and external situations, providing an
opportunity to study how Islamist movements and parties react to different internal
scenarios. The Islamist movements in this study have different historical origins and
cultural and social backgrounds, but all have wide support among the population,
which makes them important players in their respective countries and beyond.
As international relations research institutes, CeSPI and IAI focused more on the role
of Islamist movements in the complex international situation of the region and on the
policies of the main external actors, the USA and the EU, towards such movements.
International IDEA’s mission is to support democracy worldwide, and consequently
its interest has been to identify how Islamist movements relate to democracy and
the role they can play in a process of democratic reform. Their vast popular support
means that Islamist movements have a crucial role to play in the political life of their
countries, and potentially in any process conducive to building democracy.
José Luis Rhi-Sausi Vidar Helgesen Ettore Greco
Director Secretary General Director
CeSPI International IDEA IAI
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Acknowledgments
We are very grateful to the Italian Government, the Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di
Siena, the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and the German Marshall Fund of the United
States for providing the funding that made the ambitious project of which this book
is the outcome possible.
Additional thanks are due to the members of the Steering Committee, Abdalla
Hamdok and Marina Romualdi Vaccari of International IDEA, Rosa Balfour,
Ferruccio Pastore and Battistina Cugusi of CeSPI, and Roberto Aliboni and Daniela
Pioppi of IAI, who have managed and shepherded the project through from start to
finish.
Thanks are also due to Andrew Mash for his professional input in editing and
proofreading this publication, to David Ashton for translating chapter 2 and to
Lisa Hagman, International IDEA’s Publications Officer, for ensuring the smooth
production of the book on behalf of the Communications Team.
Last but not least, we acknowledge with gratitude and appreciation the key role of the
country case study authors in bringing this project to fruition.
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Contents
Abbreviations and acronyms ................................................................... 10
Introduction
Rosa Balfour and Daniela Pioppi ...............................................................13
1. Hitting the glass ceiling: The trajectory of the Moroccan Party
of Justice and Development
Eva Wegner and Miquel Pellicer ............................................................... 23
2. The Muslim Brotherhood and political change in Egypt
Tawfiq Aclimandos .................................................................................... 51
3. Anatomy of a political party: Hezbollah –
sectarian upshot or actor of change?
Daniela Pioppi ............................................................................................ 69
4. Palestinian Islamism: Conflating national liberation and
socio-political change
Khaled Hroub ............................................................................................. 91
5. Principled or stubborn? Western policy towards Hamas
Nathan Brown ........................................................................................... 111
6. Learning by doing: US policies towards the Islamist movements
in Morocco, Egypt and Lebanon
Philippe Droz-Vincent .............................................................................. 135
7. EU policy and Islamist movements: Constructive
ambiguities or alibis?
Rosa Balfour and Battistina Cugusi ....................................................... 169
Conclusions
Rosa Balfour and Daniela Pioppi ........................................................... 189
About the Project and its methodology ................................................ 198
About the authors ................................................................................... 200
About the partners .................................................................................. 202
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List of tables and figures:
Table 1.1 Districts where the PJD obtained its largest percentage of
votes, 1997, 2002 and 2007 ....................................................................... 28
Table 1.2: Profile of selected districts won by the PJD in 1997 ............. 29
Table 1.3: Profile of districts 2002 showing PJD coverage and
electoral performance .............................................................................. 34
Table 1.4: Profile of districts in 2007 by PJD electoral performance .... 40
Figure 1: Votes for the PJD plotted against illiteracy levels in
Casablanca in 2002 ................................................................................... 36
Figure 2: Votes for the PJD plotted against illiteracy levels in
Casablanca in 2007 ....................................................................................41
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Abbreviations and acronyms
AKP Justice and Development Party
Amal Afwaj al-Muqawama al-Lubnanya,
Battalions of the Lebanese Resistance
CEDEJ Centre de documentation économique juridique et sociale
CeSPI Centro Studi di Politica Internazionale
EIDHR European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights
ESF Economic Support Funds
FIS Islamic Salvation front
FMF Foreign Military Financing
EMP Euro-Mediterranean Partnership
ENP European Neighbourhood Policy
EU European Union
EUROMESCO Euro-Mediterranean Study Commission
FRIDE Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo
Exterior
G-8 Group of eight (industrialized nations)
GTZ German International Cooperation Enterprise for Sustainable
Development
IAI Istituto Affari Internazionali
ICEC Islamic Charity Emdad
IDEA International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
IMET International Military Education and Training
LCP Lebanese Communist Party
MBE Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt
MBP Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine
MEDA Measures D’accompagnement (accompanying measures)
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