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

2,579
This publication is only available in electronic format
Published: 
22 March 2010
Language: 
English
Pages: 
208
ISBN: 
978-91-85724-80-2 (Print)
Co-Publisher(s): 
Centro Studi di Politica Internazionale (Italy), Istituto Affari Internazionali (Italy)

The past decade has witnessed several electoral successes for Islamist movements in the Arab world, an issue which has stimulated a broad political and academic debate around how democracy can and will develop in the region.

In order to understand the role that Islamist movements have or can have on their political contexts and to evaluate Western polices towards them, it is necessary to start from a non-ideological and non-Western-centred analysis of the ongoing structural changes in these countries, prioritizing empirical data collection over normative schemes.

Centro Studi di Politica Internazionale, International IDEA and Istituto Affari Internazionali jointly implemented a research project on this topic. The report includes case studies on Islamist movements and parties in Egypt, Morocco, Palestine and Lebanon. Carried out by different researchers, it offers an in-depth analysis of the structures of such movements, the socio-economic interests they represent and the mobilization and political participation strategies they have adopted.

Contents

Abbreviations and acronyms

Introduction
Rosa Balfour and Daniela Pioppi

1. Hitting the glass ceiling: The trajectory of the Moroccan Party of Justice and Development
Eva Wegner and Miquel Pellicer

2. The Muslim Brotherhood and political change in Egypt
Tawfiq Aclimandos

3. Anatomy of a political party: Hezbollah: sectarian upshot or actor of change?
Daniela Pioppi

4. Palestinian Islamism: Conflating national liberation and socio-political change
Khaled Hroub

5. Principled or stubborn? Western policy towards Hamas
Nathan Brown

6. Learning by doing: US policies towards the Islamist movements in Morocco, Egypt and Lebanon
Philippe Droz-Vincent

7. EU policy and Islamist movements: Constructive ambiguities or alibis?
Rosa Balfour and Battistina Cugusi

Conclusions
Rosa Balfour and Daniela Pioppi

About the project and its methodology 
About the authors 
About the partners

 

Related Content

Feb
08
2018
Photo credit: International IDEA

Photo credit: International IDEA

News Article
Nov
27
2017
Yangon Region Chief Minister, U Phyo Min Thein, addressing regional government staff and representatives from the EU and International IDEA. Image: Thet Htun Aung.

Yangon Region Chief Minister, U Phyo Min Thein, addressing regional government staff and representatives from the EU and International IDEA. Image: Thet Htun Aung.

News Article
Nov
10
2017
Dr Daniel Zovatto, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of International IDEA (far left), together with the group of former presidents and personalities who participated in the Second Presidential Dialogue: 'Towards the Reinvention of the Political Parties'.

Dr Daniel Zovatto, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of International IDEA (far left), together with the group of former presidents and personalities who participated in the Second Presidential Dialogue: 'Towards the Reinvention of the Political Parties'.

News Article
Nov
01
2017
UN breakfast session “Women and the Future of Work"

UN breakfast session “Women and the Future of Work" 

Image: UN Women

News Article