The effect of electoral autocracy in Egypt's failed transition: a party politics perspective

Abstract

Although the failed democratic transition in Egypt following the Arab Spring is unanimously held as a poster child for the stubbornness of authoritarianism in the MENA region, its determinants remain disputed. Contributing to this debate, this article focuses on the noxious effects of past electoral authoritarianism on the transitional party system. More specifically, through quantitative text analysis, the article demonstrates that transitional parties’ agency is largely the by-product of the way in which political competition was structured under the previous electoral autocracy. On the one hand, the uneven structure of opportunity upholding previous rule is central to the lack of pluralism. On the other hand, the previous regime's practice of playing opposition actors against each other through identity politics is at the root of the absence of common ground among the aforementioned parties during the transition.

Beyond Quietism: Party Institutionalisation, Salafism, and the Economy

“…In its mainstream formulation, the hypothesis states that the involvement of anti-systemic parties in electoral politics triggers a process of moderation because of the need to compete for votes, inevitably accepting first and foremost the rules of the democratic game. Since it entails the gradual abandonment of anti-systemic positions and the implicit legitimation of the game being played by the simple act of playing it, the inclusion-moderation process has been seen, with rare exceptions (Cavatorta and Merone 2013; Resta 2019), as a gateway to democratization. From this, it follows that Salafi involvement in electoral politics after the uprisings could be interpreted as a sign of their acceptance of the rules of electoral democracy despite the rhetorical stance against it.…”

“…If, as initially observed for communist parties in established Western democracies, elections sustain a democratic regime, then moderation implies the acceptance of the procedures and the core contents of liberal democracy. If, however, elections are a pillar of electoral autocracies, as was the case in many Arab regimes, it is hard to see how the experience of the “menu of manipulation” (Schedler 2002) authoritarian regimes offer might infuse democratic learning (Gurses 2014; Resta 2019).…”

“…In accordance with these different understandings of moderation, different readings on the meaning of Salafi participation in politics have been provided. Those opting for a relational definition of moderation—measured through the ideological distance with other parties (Sartori 1976)—have either found considerable polarization between Salafi and other parties (Cross and Sorens 2016) or noted instead that the absence of ideological polarization that comes with moderation is by no means conducive to democratization (Somer 2014; Resta 2019). The same inconsistency arises also when the substantive meaning of moderation is adopted and scholars answer to this research question by directly looking at Salafis' political programs (Gurses 2014).…”

Authoritarian resurgence: towards a unified analytical framework

“…In the third article of this special issue, Valeria Resta (2019) investigates the role of political parties in Egypt's failed democratic transition, possibly the most impressive fiasco of the so-called Arab Spring, and a poster case for the stubbornness of authoritarianism in the MENA region. Resta (2019) focuses on the causes of the failure of the democratization process in Egypt, highlights the responsibilities of the transitional parties, and clarifies how the structures of the previous regime have influenced party politics during the transition. More specifically, combining historical and quantitative text analysis, Resta (2019) shows that transitional parties' agency is largely a by-product of the way political competition was structured under Hosni Mubarak.…”

“…Resta (2019) focuses on the causes of the failure of the democratization process in Egypt, highlights the responsibilities of the transitional parties, and clarifies how the structures of the previous regime have influenced party politics during the transition. More specifically, combining historical and quantitative text analysis, Resta (2019) shows that transitional parties' agency is largely a by-product of the way political competition was structured under Hosni Mubarak. In particular, her analysis points to the uneven structure of opportunity characterizing the previous electoral authoritarian regime and to the strategy of playing opposition parties against each other through identity politics.…”