faez dinparast; zahra Ramezani
Abstract
The present paper aims to answer the question: Why instability erupted within the political scene of Egypt in context of so called Arab spring revolutions from January 2011 up the coup in June 2013. According to Charles Tilly’s social movement theory, the present study claims that those instabilities ...
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The present paper aims to answer the question: Why instability erupted within the political scene of Egypt in context of so called Arab spring revolutions from January 2011 up the coup in June 2013. According to Charles Tilly’s social movement theory, the present study claims that those instabilities were results of weak and brittle coalitions which were formed between political groups in Egypt. The study hypothesis was analyzed through the game theory. Muslim brotherhood, Salafi forces, Liberal-Secular forces and Egyptian Army were identified as four main players within the political scene in Egypt according to Tilly’s theory. The relationships between those main political players were analyzed using the game theory concept based on two strategies of “making coalition” or “avoiding coalition”. From the total 17 resulting calculated scenarios (4 players each with two strategies), 12 acceptable scenarios were identified. The results showed that the political situation will tend to move towards stability if the military and secular forces form a coalition. This result can be linked to two after coup periods between 2013 and the present time. Also our findings based on game theory and Nash’s equilibrium theory suggests that Egypt needs a triangle of political forces to prevail the arena in order to achieve a stable situation. Since the weights of stability condition for three tier coalition of brotherhood-secular-army, or salafi-brotherhood-army or secular-brotherhood-Salafi are almost identical, it can be stated that political stability in Egypt is more depending on the number of forces which enter a coalition than the type of players which form the coalition.
Aliashraf Nazari; Borhan Salimi
Abstract
Purpose: In recent decades, the far-right populist parties and movements, after a recess (in Germany and Italy between the two world wars), have returned to the political scene of European democracy. Return of populism to the political scene of Western Europe in the form of far-right movements rooted ...
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Purpose: In recent decades, the far-right populist parties and movements, after a recess (in Germany and Italy between the two world wars), have returned to the political scene of European democracy. Return of populism to the political scene of Western Europe in the form of far-right movements rooted in the failure of the traditional parties in a sufficient and adequate response to issues such as globalization, economy and culture, speed and direction of integration in Europe, the issue of migration and immigration, the decline of ideologies, decreased interest in political participation and cynicism and distrust of citizens to politicians. Findings: In recent decades, Far-right parties not only have been able to present tangibly in the political life of their communities, but also have attained great successes in electoral processes. Extreme right-wing populism in recent decades is only a model of populism in political sociology. The elements and features of this model of populism are a romantic concepttion of the people, a charismatic leader, pessimistic view of democratic institutions such as political parties and parliament (the inability of these institutions in the realization of the will and sovereignty of the people), plain language, propaganda, political rhetoric, criticizing the ruling elite, conspiracy theory in speech and political literature, and the lack of a coherent program in various aspects. This model of right-wing populism can have significant consequences. It can lead to the serious obstacles to the process of integration of Muslim immigrants in French society. On the other hand, the strengthening of radical Islamism can lead to the spread of terrorist activities. Design/Methodology/Approach: In this paper, we use interpretive and analytical-theoretical method to discuss the French National Front as the most prominent representative of the extreme right in this country's political scene. Originality/Value: The main finding of this paper is that through new forms of communication, populist parties have been able to communicate with citizens and their representatives. Despair of traditional policies has drawn citizens’ attention to populist parties and movements. The combination of demagogic promises and slogans such as complete and real democracy, extremely hostile attitude to the ruling parties and immigration restrictations have shaped these parties and movements.
