Mapping of the Arab Left

Editing of the Arabic edition: Khalil Kalfat Translation: Ubab Murad English Copyediting: Rachel Aspden December 2014 The views represented in this book are the sole responsibility of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung. The original Arabic title of the Work: خارطة اليسار العربـي: تونس- مرص – اليمن- الســودان – المغرب - الجزائر Table of contents Introduction by the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung 4 On the Arab Left and Arab Revolutions 6 The Map of the Tunisian Left 16 Leftist movements in Egypt 44 The Contemporary Yemeni Left Scene 70 The Left in Sudan: resources and contemporary challenges 106 The Moroccan Left: the reality of the crisis and the throes of change 134 Leftist Movement in Algeria: A Legend to Glorify Hope 162 Introduction by the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung Why Mapping the Political Left? The Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung (RLS) is concerned with a number of topics relevant to progressive political life in and outside of parliament. As an organization affiliated with the German Left Party, we function as a think-tank for the wider spectrum of German groups, organizations, and movements that struggle for social justice and direct democracy. Although the contexts of relevant developments within the worldwide political Left may vary, the effects are similar: efforts are not unified and, thus, are weakened. Moreover, although Leftist politics may address important social issues, they are not necessarily attractive to relevant constituencies. The questions therefore are: what are the appropriate ways to organize for political parties? How can parties advance social movements and vice versa? How can the social justice we are fighting for be achieved in a globalized world? Who could be partners in this struggle? In general, there seem to be more questions than answers. In Germany, as in many other European countries, we are facing rising disillusionment with (traditional) party and parliamentary politics. The number of party members, let alone active ones, is on the decline. People are finding other ways to organize, often through powerful and socially broad political initiatives. These initiatives, on the other hand, are mostly short-lived, which, again, stresses the need for strong, socially rooted, sustainable political organizations. In a range of Arab countries we have been witnessing the same developments. The discrepancies between various Leftist ideologies and practices are evident. Many parties and movements are marginalized, some lack internal democracy and 4 Mapping of the Arab Left are, thus, neither attractive for younger activists nor promising pillars in the fight for a democratic society. And in the search for practical ways to achieve social justice, the obstacles seem overwhelming: foreign debt and its repercussions, the draining or exploitation of local labor and resources by foreign investments, or free trade agreements, of which only the stronger economy benefits in the long term. This study adds to previous RLS efforts to understand and analyze the composition of the global Left. A list of those publications (with links for download) is included at the end of the book. “From Revolution to Coalition – Radical Left Parties in Europe” analyses the situation of Leftist parties in Europe (English language) and an Arabic version of it is forthcoming through our office. A study about Leftist parties in the Arab East (Arabic and English) under the title “Mapping of the Arab Left: Contemporary Leftist Politics in the Arab East” was published in early 2014. In front of you is the English translation of the Arabic study that was published by our office in October 2014. We would like this material to be used as a basis for a process of sharing analyses and learning from each other’s practices and experiences. We hope for it to be a small contribution to improving the understanding of political processes in different contexts and to the advancement of networks between progressive parties and circles across borders and continents. The aim is to refill progressive values and political practices with life on the basis of social justice and equality. Peter Schäfer Head of the RLS North Africa office December 2014 5 On the Arab Left and Arab Revolutions On the Arab Left and Arab Revolutions Khalil Kalfat Khalil Kalfat is an Egyptian writer and translator who wrote a number of articles and books on politics in the 1970s. In the 1980s and 1990s he worked in the field of preparing dictionaries and translation from English and French. He has published numerous political, cultural and linguistic articles and studies. His linguistic writings include Towards a New Arabic Grammar, and his translated works include The Old Regime and the French Revolution, by Alexis de Tocqueville. His writings about the January revolution are collected in five books that will be published successively. The Arab Left acquired the features that distinguish it from the Left in northern and western industrial countries, from the social, economic and political conditions under which it grew. Political developments in our region and in the world, over more than a century, created the distinctive features of the Arab Left. The Left arose in the political and economic framework of colonial dependency in Arab countries, most of which were colonies or semi-colonies. All were controlled by British and French imperialism, with some exceptions such as Italy in Libya. It was imperative for direct and indirect colonial dependency to impose certain issues. The socio-economic structure which was dependent on the global capitalist economy gave rise to the two dimensions of the national issue: liberalization from economic dependency and the creation of a modern capitalist society, a path blocked by the iron colonial cage; and political independence through the expulsion of military occupation and the removal of the colonial administration. It was in this context that dependent Arab capitalist regimes emerged. Under their leadership, nationalist and independent movements 6 Mapping of the Arab Left and parties appeared as well as national/pan-Arab movements and parties of small petty-bourgeois classes as well as other classes that seemed to have contradictory interests not only with regards to imperialism but also to dependent national capitalism. Moreover, in the context of the issue of national independence military coups took place, which seemed anti-feudalism and anti-dependent capitalism. When the time of independence came, in the wake of the second world war in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, these movements, parties and coups gradually became ruling capitalist classes, such as capitalist states, private capitalism or a partnership between the two. The Arab countries were doomed to remain within the framework of economic dependency by virtue of their economic structures despite the slogans of independence, because of the direct colonial obstacle, and the mentality of the dependency school, in which these new capitalist regimes, formed from the ruins of previous colonial capitalist regimes, were cultured. Independence and even socialist slogans were raised and misled the people. Logic and the lessons of history show that these dependent national/ pan-Arab capitalist regimes will not be able to achieve any of their ambitious slogans. These countries ended up retreating from independence and socialism, by virtue of their capitalist nature. This was accompanied with the spread of exploitation, corruption in the state, society and among the population, and deterioration in social, economic and political conditions. All this has led to the emergence of the worst forms of military and police dictatorships and increased poverty despite alleged socialist gains. The confiscation of political life has been achieved by the prohibition of left-wing and liberal political parties or through taming them. Thus, a false pluralism emerged, which was isolated from the masses, intellectually impoverished, politically opportunistic and completely dependent on the authoritarian ruling classes. All this took place under slogans of peaceful democracy or social democracy. The syndromes of poverty, ignorance and disease created an environment fertile for cultural deterioration and the rise in religious reactionary thought and its fundamentalist, jihadist and terrorist popular movements, with their increase in numbers feeding on the economic, intellectual, financial and spiritual misery of the people. 7 On the Arab Left and Arab Revolutions Some of the distinctive characteristics of the Arab Left and its struggles can be summarized as follows: The history of the Arab countries in the modern era can be summarized by their subjugation to British and French imperialism, the emergence of dependent national capitalist regimes, the absence of economic development by virtue of dependence. This is combined by the ineffectiveness of their revolutions, as popular independence or protest revolutions based on the social, economic and political conditions of the masses, rather than social and political revolutions capable of freeing these countries from dependency and initiating economic or cultural modernization. All this has led to the formation of the so-called third world with its dependent, rentier capitalist regimes and remnants of pre-capitalist societies heading towards a historical decline. This path not only leads to marginalization, but to something more dangerous: a historical decline that affects the survival of these peoples. For example, the

Load more