Re-thinking the Tanẓīm: Tensions between Individual Identities and Organizational Structures in the Muslim Brotherhood after 2013

Abstract

This article traces the struggle between individual agency and organizational structures characterizing the Muslim Brotherhood in the aftermath of the 2013 coup, identifying these tensions as a main point of contention driving its restructuring and fragmentation. Since Mohammed Morsi’s violent toppling, the Brotherhood experienced a process of gradual fragmentation, with tensions developing between different approaches to repression. Yet, while these debates came to the fore during the current crisis, they have roots in the pre-revolutionary period. The article traces the emergence of tensions between structure and agency from 2011 to the post-2013 context to provide a clearer picture of the internal challenges facing the Brotherhood today. It relies on data collected during fieldwork conducted between 2013 and 2019 in Turkey and the UK, and interviews with current and former Brotherhood members from across the organizational spectrum. It focuses on the members’ individual perspectives in order to trace the growing disconnect between them and the organization.