Nouveaux régimes, vieilles politiques ? Réponses islamistes aux défis économiques et sociaux

Résumé 0

New Regimes, Old Policies ? Islamist Answers to Economic and Social Challenges According to an increasingly dominant narrative, the ‘Arab spring’ was primarily prompted by a combination of the long term structural decline of MENA economies and sudden external shocks, in particular the global financial crisis and the attendant increase in commodity prices. It should nevertheless be noted that the Islamist winners of the first “free” elections in Tunisia and Egypt advocate (d) economic and social policies that in many ways resemble those of their unelected predecessors. They immediately focused on demand side policies and proposed, in Egypt and Tunisia, respectively, a slightly modified form of economic nationalism and an updated and slightly modified form of liberalism. This article examines the major statements issued by the Islamist parties which, though not at the origin of the 2010-11 protests, were the principal beneficiaries of the subsequent elections. It also examines some key policies implemented by Islamist governments. The fact that the policies of these governments have been influenced less by popular demands expressed in the framework of the protests than by the social groups that support them calls into question lopsided explanations that merely emphasize material loss, poverty and impoverishment. ■