The metamorphosis of social movements into political parties during democratic transition processes. A comparison of Egyptian and Tunisian movements and parties

Abstract

Social Movements play a crucial role in the process of democratic transformation. They are the driving force in challenging authoritarianism. It is less recognized that SMs are also the fundamental building blocks for emerging political parties. While there is a significant body of work on the role of SMs in ending authoritarianism, there is little systematic research on either successful or indeed failed transitions into parties. Focusing on the transitions in Egypt and Tunisia following the Arab Spring, the paper studies newly established political parties with roots in SM activism, including Islamists and those on the secular spectrum. The aim is to observe whether and to what degree SMs develop formal boundaries which mark their institutionalization into independent parties. Although Goldstone pointed out that the differentiation between SMs and political parties is in any case ‘fuzzy’, the paper argues that the formation of formal boundaries is in fact essential to the success of the democratic transition process. The failure of democratic transition in Egypt in July 2013, to which pro-democratic movements and new political parties contributed, demonstrates this fact. The Tunisian case shows a more comprehensive metamorphosis of SMs into political parties, thus enabling a relatively structured process of transition. Tags: Social Movement Theory; social movements; political parties; democratic transition; authoritarianism; Arab Spring; Middle East; Egypt; Tunisi