Democratic Transition in the Muslim World: A Global Perspective (Religion, Culture, and Public Life Book 35)

In early 2011, widespread protests ousted dictatorial regimes in both Tunisia and Egypt. Within a few years, Tunisia successfully held parliamentary and presidential elections and witnessed a peaceful transition of power, while the Egyptian military went on to seize power and institute authoritarian control. What explains the success and failure of transitions to democracy in these two countries, and how might they speak to democratic transition attempts in other Muslim-majority countries? Democratic Transition in the Muslim World convenes leading scholars to consider the implications of democratic success in Tunisia and failure in Egypt in comparative perspective. Alongside case studies of Indonesia, Senegal, and India, contributors analyze similarities and differences among democratizing countries with large Muslim populations, considering universal challenges as well as each nation’s particular obstacles. A central theme is the need to understand the conditions under which it becomes possible to craft pro-democratic coalitions among secularists and Islamists. Essays discuss the dynamics of secularist fears of Islamist electoral success, the role of secular constituencies in authoritarian regimes’ resilience, and the prospects for moderation among both secularist and Islamist political actors. They delve into topics such as the role of the army and foreign military aid, Middle Eastern constitutions, and the role of the Muslim Brotherhood. The book also includes an essay by the founder and president of Tunisia’s Ennadha Party, Rachid Ghannouchi, who discusses the political strategies his party chose to pursue. Contributors To This Book Are Particularly Interested In Expanding Our Understanding Of What Helps, Or Hurts, Successful Democratic Transition Attempts In Countries With Large Muslim Populations. Crafting Pro-democratic Coalitions Among Secularists And Islamists Presents A Special Obstacle That Must Be Addressed By Theorists And Practitioners. The Argument Throughout The Book Is That Such Coalitions Will Not Happen If Potentially Democratic Secularists Are Part Of What Al Stepan Terms The Authoritarian Regime's Constituency Of Coercion Because They (the Secularists) Are Afraid That Free Elections Will Be Won By Islamists Who Threaten Them Even More Than The Existing Secular Authoritarian Regime. Tunisia Allows Us To Do Analysis On This Topic By Comparing Two Least Similar Recent Case Outcomes: Democratic Success In Tunisia And Democratic Failure In Egypt. Tunisia Also Allows Us To Do An Analysis Of Four Most Similar Case Outcomes By Comparing The Successful Democratic Transitions In Tunisia, Indonesia, Senegal, And The Country With The Second Or Third Largest Muslim Population In The World, India. Did These Countries Face Some Common Challenges Concerning Democratization? Did All Four Of These Successful Cases In Fact Use Some Common Policies That While Democratic, Had Not Normally Been Used In Transitions In Countries Without Significant Numbers Of Muslims? If So, Did These Policies Help The Transitions In Tunisia, Indonesia, Senegal And India? If They Did, We Should Incorporate Them In Some Way Into Our Comparative Theories About Successful Democratic Transitions. Why Different Democratization Outcomes In Tunisia And Egypt? Islamic-secular Party Accommodations, Constitutions, Militaries, And The Content Of International Assistance -- Ennadha's Democratic Commitments, And Capabilities : Major Evolutionary Moments And Choice / Rachid Ghannouchi -- The Challenges Of Democratization In The Arab World : Some Reflections On The Egyptian Case / Carrie Rosefsky Wickham -- Mutual Accommodation Between Moderate Islamic And Moderate Secular Activists / Alfred Stepan -- The Roots Of Egypt's Constitutional Catastrophe : The Necessity Of Marrying Analysis Of Context, Process And Text / Nathan J. Brown -- Civil And Political Society Compromises In The Crafting Of A Progressive And Consensual Constitution / Monica Marks -- Legacies For Democratization Of Prior Patterns Of Civil-military Relations / Hicham Bou Nassif -- Why So Much International Assistance For An Authoritarian Military In Egypt And So Little For Democratic Transition And Consolidation In Tunisia? / Radwan Masmoudi -- Rethinking Other Democracies With Large Muslim Populations: What Policies Helped In Indonesia And India? -- Crafting Indonesian Democracy : Inclusion- Moderation And The Sacralizing Of The Postcolonial State / Jeremy Menchik -- Crafting Of A Democracy With The World's Largest Muslim Minority / Sudipta Kaviraj. Edited By Alfred Stepan. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Table of Contents 6 Foreword, by Monica Marks 10 Acknowledgments 12 Introduction, by Alfred Stepan 16 Part I. Why Different Democratization Outcomes in Tunisia and Egypt? Cross-Ideological Accommodations, Constitutions, Militaries, and the Content of International Assistance 28 1. Ennahda’s Democratic Commitments and Capabilities: Major Evolutionary Moments and Choices, by Rached Ghannouchi 30 2. The Challenges of Democratization in the Arab World: Some Reflections on the Egyptian Case, by Carrie Rosefsky Wickham 44 3. Mutual Accommodation: Islamic and Secular Parties and Tunisia’s Democratic Transition, by Alfred Stepan 58 4. The Roots of Egypt’s Constitutional Catastrophe: The Necessity of Marrying an Analysis of Context, Process, and Text, by Nathan J. Brown 88 5. Purists and Pluralists: Cross-Ideological Coalition Building in Tunisia’s Democratic Transition, by Monica Marks 106 6. Patterns of Civil-Military Relations and Their Legacies for Democratization: Egypt Versus Tunisia, by Hicham Bou Nassif 136 7. The Failure of the International Community to Support Tunisia, by Radwan Masmoudi 164 Part II. Rethinking Other Democracies with Large Muslim Populations: What Policies Helped in Indonesia and India? 176 8. Crafting Indonesian Democracy: Inclusion-Moderation and the Sacralizing of the Postcolonial State, by Jeremy Menchik 178 9. Indian Democracy and the World’s Largest Muslim Minority, by Hilal Ahmed and Sudipta Kaviraj Selected Bibliography 216 Selected Bibliography 242 Contributors 252 Index 256 "Democratic Transition in the Muslim World convenes leading scholars to consider the implications of democratic success in Tunisia and failure in Egypt in comparative perspective. Alongside case studies of Indonesia, Senegal, and India, contributors analyze similarities and differences among democratizing countries with large Muslim populations, considering universal challenges as well as each nation's particular obstacles. A central theme is the need to understand the conditions under which it becomes possible to craft pro-democratic coalitions among secularists and Islamists. Essays discuss the dynamics of secularist fears of Islamist electoral success, the role of secular constituencies in authoritarian regimes' resilience, and the prospects for moderation among both secularist and Islamist political actors. They delve into topics such as the role of the army and foreign military aid, Middle Eastern constitutions, and the role of the Muslim Brotherhood. The book also includes an essay by the founder and president of Tunisia's Ennadha Party, Rachid Ghannouchi, who discusses the political strategies his party chose to pursue." -- Publisher's description This book convenes leading scholars to consider the implications of democratic success in Tunisia and failure in Egypt in comparative perspective. Contributors analyze similarities and differences among democratizing countries with large Muslim populations, considering universal challenges as well as each nation's particular obstacles.