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Abstract
The Ennahda party has risen from secrecy to prominence after the Arab Spring and has been one of the main political actors in Tunisia ever since. The party has intrigued general observers with a governing strategy far from classic Islamist tenets: instead of championing an Islamic state, it has agreed to establish a civil state not bound by shariʿa law; instead of considering themselves the sole legitimate office holders, it has been able to share power with historical political rivals; instead suppressing woman rights, it has endeavored to improve them; and instead of adopting a comprehensive social approach, the party has chosen to specialize in politics.
This study sought to unveil the dynamics behind Ennahda’s moderate governing strategy. It has found that, in great extent, the party has acted according to the Inclusion-Moderation Hypothesis, which argues that the constraints of participation in pluralist politics pose limits for revolutionary actors to realize their original goals and, therefore, acts as a factor to induce their behavioral and, in some cases, even their ideological moderation. Both have been present in Ennahda’s experience. In addition, Ennahda’s governing strategy has been greatly influenced by the experience of reference Islamist actors elsewhere in the region through the diffusion of ideas and modes of operation. These domestic and international dynamics the party faced from 2011 to 2019 have summed up to determine the consolidation of Ennahdaas a representative of post-Islamism, although the exact meaning of this analytical category is disputable.
