Why Spring Turned to Winter: Islamist Parties and Democratic Transitions in Tunisia and Egypt

The Department of International Relations cordially invites you to the online event titled “Why Spring Turned to Winter: Islamist Parties and Democratic Transitions in Tunisia and Egypt.” Assistant Professor Şebnem Gümüşçü from Middlebury College will join us as the speaker, together with Assistant Professor Berk Esen from Sabancı University as the discussant in our second event in the online series called "Talks on a World in Crisis." The event will take place online via Zoom on the 10th of March between 18:30-20:30. 

Please click here for the event registration form. The online Zoom link will be shared half an hour before the event with participants who filled out the registration form via the e-mail addresses they provided on the form.

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Abstract

Why Spring Turned to Winter: Islamist Parties and Democratic Transitions in Tunisia and Egypt

2021 marks the 10th year anniversary of the Arab uprisings. Starting in Tunisia and rapidly sweeping across North Africa and Middle East, millions demanded the end of long-lasting autocratic rule in their countries. Holding their regimes accountable, they wanted jobs, dignity, and freedom. Yet their historic call largely failed to instate meaningful change. Only in Tunisia, where the uprisings began, we witnessed the birth of democratic rule. Elsewhere, autocrats stopped the revolutions in their tracks. Today, the region is poorer, the youth is still unemployed, and autocrats are ruling with a tighter grip. What went wrong? How come did the uprisings fail to deliver change? This talk tackles this question. In a search of an answer, it focuses on the role of Islamist parties and how they shaped the transitions.

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Assist. Prof. Şebnem Gümüşçü

Şebnem Gümüşçü is an assistant professor of political science at Middlebury College and the co-author (with E. Fuat Keyman) of Democracy, Identity, and Foreign Policy in Turkey: Hegemony Through Transformation (2014). She received her Ph.D. in Political Science and Government from the University of Virginia. Her research on political Islam, dominant parties, and democratic backsliding have been widely published in journals such as Comparative Political Studies, Party Politics, Journal of Democracy, Third World Quarterly, and Government and Opposition.

Assist. Prof. Berk Esen

Berk Esen is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Sabancı University, Turkey. He received his Ph.D. in Government from Cornell University in 2015. His research and teaching interests include the political economy of development, party politics, and authoritarian regimes with a focus on Latin America and the Middle East. His research has been published in top political science journals such as Party Politics, Journal of Democracy, Third World Quarterly, PS: Political Science & Politics, South East European Society and Politics, Journal of Near East and Balkan Studies, Mediterranean Politics, Turkish Studies, Review of Middle East Studies, and Middle East Review of International Affairs.