Political Parties in Post-Uprising Tunisia and Morocco

Organization, Development and Legitimation

Giulia Cimini

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9781032169217
• eBook ISBN: 9781000844429
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Conservatism & Liberalism
• Index: Politics & International Relations

This book offers a comparative, theory-grounded study of Maghrebi political parties since the Arab uprisings, specifically focused on Tunisia and Morocco in the first decade after the 2011 watershed elections.

Based on primary sources, including in-depth interviews and updated party statutes and bylaws, the author introduces four case studies of key Islamist and anti-Islamist parties, exploring their organisational standing, internal working, and legitimating assets. By dwelling into a topic long neglected, the author provides insight into the "hybrid" nature of political parties in the Maghreb, oscillating between juxtaposed traditional and modern discourses and ambivalent sources of political authority. As such, it is hybridisation that shapes parties' organisational choices and development and accounts for differences within parties. In the wake of political liberalisation, the author argues that political parties have become increasingly distant from society, distrusted by a large part of the citizenry. Ultimately, the Tunisian and Moroccan cases invite reflection on similar phenomena taking place within the Middle East and North Africa region, and even outside of it.

Bridging disparate disciplines, including comparative politics, area studies, and contemporary Middle Eastern history, the book will be of interest to a broad range of graduate-level students and academics.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Endorsement Page
• Half-Title Page
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Party Acronyms
• Acknowledgements
• Note on Transliteration and Translation
• Introduction
• 1 Disentangling Political Parties in the Maghreb
• 2 Political Parties in Post-Revolutionary Tunisia and Morocco
• 3 Political Parties and Elections in Post-2011 Tunisia and Morocco: Dynamics of Electoral Competitions
• 4 Tunisian Parties from Within
• 5 Moroccan Parties from Within
• 6 Conclusion
• Appendices
• Index