Was the Arab Spring a Post-Islamist Moment?

Abstract

Scholars continue to debate political motives behind the Arab Spring – a debate that centers on the compatibility of democratic and Islamist preferences. Some frame the protests as a boon for democracy and prudential needs of citizens. Others report an Islamist turn against secular autocracies. Here, the authors argue that this framing relies on outdated civilizational narratives and that democratic, Islamist, and prudential concerns present concurrently in the Arab Spring. Using the Arab Democracy Barometer, the authors investigate public opinion in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia, to estimate evaluations of the Arab Spring. Democratically oriented Egyptians and Libyans were more favorable toward the events, while Tunisians with Islamists preferences were more optimistic. The authors find little evidence of tensions between Islamism and democracy. This is particularly salient when evaluating attitudes about the Arab Spring. The authors argue that the Arab Spring constitutes a “post-Islamist” movement, one which integrates democratic and Islamist preferences into a revolutionary framework.