Islamist Parties in the Maghreb and their links with EU:
Mutual Influences and the dynamics of democratisation
by Amel Boubekeur and Samir Amghar
Publisher: Euromesco, October 2006.
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One of the main aspects of the European Union’s (EU) new Neighbourhood Policy towards countries of the Maghreb is the strengthening of the process of democratisation. Islamic parties which were for a long time kept in illegal opposition and are now official, such as the Mouvement de la Société pour la Paix (MSP, Movement of the Society for Peace) in Algeria and the Parti de la Justice et du Développement (PJD, Justice and Development Party) in Morocco are appearing increasingly as actors that can play a role in the democratisation process of the Maghreb. This new perspective is reinforced by the transformation that political Islam has undergone in the last decade or so. The Islamic parties of the 70s and 80s have abandoned their revolutionary rhetoric and opted for legality in the early 90s. By integrating into the official political landscape, they have become conservative and centre-ground parties: politically by adhering to the institutional frameworks of the kingdom and the nation, and economically in calling for liberalism. By presenting themselves as critical supporters of the regimes in place, they aim to take part in the different governmental coalitions whilst satisfying part of their electorate by their dissenting arguments.
