TITLE:
Exploring Post-Rebel Parties in Power: Political Space and Implications for Islamist Inclusion and Moderation
AUTHORS:
Lise Storm
KEYWORDS:
Post-Rebel Parties, Islamist Moderation; Political Space, Power, Inclusion, Competitive Authoritarianism
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Political Science,
Vol.10 No.4,
October
10,
2020
ABSTRACT: This article analyzes factors relating to
moderation and immoderation of post-rebel parties in power, thus making a
significant departure from previous studies, which have tended to examine these
from a position of political weakness. The rigorous analysis marries approaches
and findings from comparative politics and Middle East studies with a view to
making an original, qualitative contribution to the academic
debate on the inclusion of Islamist parties in formal politics based on lessons
learned from the experiences of 12 post-rebel parties across the globe, thus also breaking with the trend
for single-country case studies or larger, quantitative studies. The research
finds that whether post-rebel parties in power are likely to behave moderately
largely depends upon the political environment at the time of the conflict’s end, i.e., when these parties first gain
entry into the formal political system. Post-rebel parties entering a political
system with a tradition of resolving political disagreements within the
electoral arena, in which the post-rebel party faces rivalry from sizeable competitors, and where the main
issue driving the post-rebel party’s support during the conflict is no longer
salient, are more likely to behave inclusively and
remain moderate once in power. With reference to Islamist parties, the issue
thus becomes a question of how to best create an environment that facilitates
Islamist moderation upon these parties’ inclusion into formal
politics, rather than a debate over whether the inclusion or exclusion of such
parties will lead to their moderation. This finding is likely to significantly
change how scholars approach Islamist parties and their inclusion into formal
politics.