25 Sep 2026
WIn a previous Interfaced study, Felipe Santos, Mattiahs Hoffman and Dan Mercea has shown the fluid relations between political parties and civic society. This study examines the detrimental effects this relationship might have for the very process of party institutionalization through the experiences of mainstream Sunni Islamist parties. In so doing, this study underscores the importance of autonomy as a constitutive part of the process of party institutionalization and shift the debate upon the impact religious parties have on the process of democratization from an ideological to a structural perspective.
For years, debates about Islamist political parties have focused heavily on ideology. Do these parties moderate over time? Do they embrace democratic norms? How do their religious commitments shape their political behaviour?
A new article by Valeria Resta and Francesco Cavatorta, published in Mediterranean Politics in 2026, suggests that another question deserves much more attention: how autonomous are these parties from the social movements and organisations from which they emerged?
The authors argue that party autonomy is an important, but often overlooked, dimension of political institutionalisation. Looking beyond ideology can therefore provide new insights into how mainstream Sunni Islamist parties develop, adapt and participate in democratic politics.
Why does autonomy matter?
Resta and Cavatorta define autonomy as the extent to which political parties can operate independently from their founding social organisations. This question is particularly relevant for parties that emerged from the Muslim Brotherhood or similar Sunni Islamic movements.
Their associational roots can be a major source of political strength. Religious and social networks can help parties mobilise supporters, provide social services and maintain strong connections with communities. At the same time, however, these ties can constrain parties’ ability to broaden their electoral appeal, negotiate compromises or respond to changing political circumstances.
The experience of Tunisia’s Ennahda illustrates this tension. In 2016, the party formally separated its political activities from its religious and social activism. This move was widely seen as an important step towards greater organisational independence. Yet, according to the authors, such a separation remains relatively uncommon among mainstream Sunni Islamist parties.
The issue is therefore not simply whether parties moderate their ideological positions, but whether they can develop sufficient organisational independence to act as political parties in their own right.
Measuring party autonomy
To move beyond individual case studies, Resta and Cavatorta develop an original index of party autonomy using the V-Party dataset, which provides expert-coded information on political parties across 178 countries.
Their index examines three dimensions:
The authors apply this framework to 378 party-year observations across 14 countries where mainstream Sunni Islamist parties have operated since 1980.
What does the research find?
The findings indicate that mainstream Sunni Islamist parties generally have lower levels of autonomy than other political parties.
They tend to remain more closely connected to religious constituencies and civil society organisations associated with their founding movements. Their organisational structures can therefore remain dependent on actors outside the formal party organisation.
Financial autonomy presents a more complex picture. Islamist parties can have relatively broad financial resources, but the authors suggest that this can partly reflect the strength and breadth of their associational networks rather than genuine independence from external actors.
These patterns help explain why some Islamist parties struggle to expand beyond their traditional constituencies or negotiate political compromises.
The contrasting experiences of Ennahda in Tunisia and the Freedom and Justice Party in Egypt illustrate the potential consequences. Ennahda’s gradual organisational separation from its movement increased its political independence, while the Freedom and Justice Party remained closely tied to the Muslim Brotherhood during Egypt’s post-2011 transition.
Rethinking Islamist party politics
By bringing autonomy to the centre of the analysis, Resta and Cavatorta offer a different way of understanding the political development of mainstream Sunni Islamist parties.
The key question is not only whether these parties moderate ideologically. It is also whether they can institutionalise organisationally and become sufficiently independent political actors to represent diverse constituencies, negotiate compromises and govern effectively.
Their autonomy index provides a tool for examining this question systematically across parties and countries. More broadly, the research suggests that understanding how political parties are connected to the organisations and networks around them may be just as important as understanding what they believe.
Beyond Islamism: a broader question about political parties
The significance of the article extends beyond Islamist parties.
Party institutionalisation is often measured through factors such as organisational longevity, territorial presence or organisational complexity. Resta and Cavatorta argue that autonomy should also be considered a central dimension of party institutionalisation.
This raises a broader question about the relationship between political parties and the social organisations surrounding them. Parties need strong connections to society to represent citizens effectively. But when those connections become forms of external control, they can limit a party’s ability to represent diverse interests, negotiate with political opponents and respond to changing circumstances. In a word, to fully fulfil its representative and governing functions which are the ones that define political parties as such.
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