Political Parties and Elections - Politics of the Middle East and North Africa

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[...] Political Parties and Elections - Politics of the Middle East and North Africa Critical response paper Political Parties and Elections In their article "After the Arab Spring: Do Muslims vote Islamic now?" Charles Kurzman and Didem Türkoglu discuss the evolution of Islamic parties, including their electoral performance, competition among them and their liberal tendencies. According to them, before the Arab springs, these parties had poor legislative results, and they were moving in a liberal direction. Following the Arab Springs, many parties have come to power in North Africa, but they have not performed better overall since 2011, and remain marginal parties. [...]

[...] She analyzes several data, such as confidence in institutions, security or the level of democracy to reveal the concerns of the inhabitants. Overall, it shows a very relative confidence in political institutions, a strong concern about terrorist attacks and a reduced support for political Islam. She also analyzes the perceptions of the population following the various reforms, noting that Moroccans and Jordanians support their regime and country, which they consider democratic, while Algerians are less satisfied with their government. Finally, she addresses the issue of political parties, which they believe are very important to the authoritarian regime, allowing it to persist. [...]

[...] Last but not least, all of these authors refer to the elections in the Middle East and South Africa, and the objectives that these elections support. Nevertheless, they do not all have the same perception of them. While Cammett Melani, Issar Sukriti, Charles Kurzman and Didem Türkoglu focus more on groups and their processes and outcomes, the others have a more global analysis of elections and their objectives, mainly arguing that clientelism is not their only purpose. The ideological dimension remains important in these elections, and the political participation of voters can be ideological and can allow voters to express their approval or condemnation of the regime. [...]

[...] For them, elections are also a way for the citizens to show their level of trust in the regime, and to express the agreement or disagreement with its economical results. Thus, they reject the view that voters don't care about the political dimension when they vote, and that they are only motivated by patronage. The Middle East In her book "The Middle East", and more specifically in chapter "Actors, Public Opinion and Participation," Ellen Lust explains the multiple dynamics underlying voter voting in the Middle East and North Africa. She identifies a concern for corruption and the overall economy of the country. [...]