Electoral Support for Islamic Parties in the Middle East and North Africa

Abstract

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is often regarded as an area where it is difficult to stabilize democracy. This notion is reinforced by the fact that, in the most recent set of elections held in the region, Islamic-orientated political parties perceived to be anti-democratic have achieved important electoral victories. This article analyses these parties in the MENA region in an attempt to discern whether support is related to a preference for anti-democratic forms of government. The research takes the form of a quantitative analysis using survey data and results indicate that electoral support for Islamic political parties is in fact driven by a rejection of the present state configuration, which in turn leads to a demand for religion to exert greater influence on the state.