Valeria Resta is Adjunct Professor at the Catholic University of Milan. Her research focuses on the dynamics of authoritarianism and democratization in the Middle East and North Africa. She recently co-edited the Routledge Handbook on Elections in the Middle East and North Africa.

"Valeria Resta's book is compulsory reading for scholars, students and professionals interested in Arab politics and comparative politics in general. Not only does this book stand out for providing a lucid analysis of the role of political parties in the success of the democratic transition in Tunisia and its failure in Egypt, but also for helping us understand the consolidation of al-Sisi's authoritarian regime after the 2013 military coup and Kaïs Saied’s authoritarian turn that has put an end to the only successful democratic experience in the region after the Arab Uprisings."Inmaculada Szmolka, Professor of Comparative Politics at the University of Granada, Spain

• Introduction  1. Charting Different Transitions: Tunisia and Egypt Compared  2. Demand of Representation, Power Resources and Parties’ Agency: Political Parties in Transitions Processes  3. Homogeneous vs. Divided Societies? Analyzing the Demand of Representation  4. Unfair Patterns of Competition and Transitional Parties' Power Resources  5. Authoritarian Learning and Transitional Party Systems’ Politicking  6. Conclusions

Valeria Resta is Adjunct Professor at the Catholic University of Milan. Her research focuses on the dynamics of authoritarianism and democratization in the Middle East and North Africa. She recently co-edited the Routledge Handbook on Elections in the Middle East and North Africa.

"Valeria Resta's book is compulsory reading for scholars, students and professionals interested in Arab politics and comparative politics in general. Not only does this book stand out for providing a lucid analysis of the role of political parties in the success of the democratic transition in Tunisia and its failure in Egypt, but also for helping us understand the consolidation of al-Sisi's authoritarian regime after the 2013 military coup and Kaïs Saied’s authoritarian turn that has put an end to the only successful democratic experience in the region after the Arab Uprisings."Inmaculada Szmolka, Professor of Comparative Politics at the University of Granada, Spain

• Introduction  1. Charting Different Transitions: Tunisia and Egypt Compared  2. Demand of Representation, Power Resources and Parties’ Agency: Political Parties in Transitions Processes  3. Homogeneous vs. Divided Societies? Analyzing the Demand of Representation  4. Unfair Patterns of Competition and Transitional Parties' Power Resources  5. Authoritarian Learning and Transitional Party Systems’ Politicking  6. Conclusions