If some will remember 2015 as the year Tunisia’s National Quartet was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, others will recall that it was citizens’ struggles online and on the ground which kept the country on track.
Tunisia, US: the greatest threats to national security come from within
Comparing the nature of political discourse and media response in the US and Tunisia following such tragedies reveals key debates that have been stirred up in each country, as well as some fundamental commonalities; namely, failure to face the underlying, internal factors that fuel terrorism.
Is foreign assistance for counterterrorism projects fueling radicalization?
Nearly five years into the democratic work in progress and in the immediate wake of a bomb explosion that killed 12 in the capital, demands for and promises of US support for the Arab Spring’s sole success appear increasingly tired and misguided.
Unique, but not exceptional: transitional justice in Tunisia
Tunisia’s decision to undertake its own transitional justice process, largely encouraged and supported by the international community, was formalized nearly two years after the departure of long-time president Zine El-Abedine Ben Ali. How the country’s path to reconciliation will be measured in a global context and how its work will impact Tunisians remains very much uncertain. In the meantime, the growing library of precedent cases offers lessons and examples for Tunisia’s truth-seeking body as it works to carry out its mission in the face of political, structural, and strategic challenges.
Between Tunisia and Libya: a wall and duty-free zone for border and economic security
Informal commerce is not limited to one category of merchandise, one geographic region, one demographic; trafficked items include weapons, food products, and gasoline and circulate the country via markets in Ben Guerdane, Kasserine, Sfax, Tunis; smugglers range from merchants of little means to prominent businessmen who are comparatively economically resilient and more likely to withstand trade restrictions imposed at the borders. For many smugglers of lesser means, survival depends upon their ability to navigate a political vision and legal framework which serve neither to sustain nor protect them.
Tunisia and the Wall: government solidifies its vision of “national unity”… through exclusion
…Everyone, it seemed, was talking about the wall, a trench-lined sand barricade that is to stretch some 200 kilometers along Tunisia’s border with Libya. In the capital, a world away from the country’s borders, conversations are based on hear-say, rumors, and speculation. Approbation, uncertainty, suspicion…the sentiments provoked are varied, though many remain simply baffled at the belated unveiling and precipitous construction of the government’s latest counterterrorism mechanism, a wall between Tunisia and its neighbor to the south-east.
Sousse Attack: Security failures compounded by officials’ outlandish versions
The facts are clear. The trial concerning the assassination of Chokri Belaid has been deferred, not a single terrorist crime has been tried, and the attack in Sousse has exposed security and political failures. Four years after the Rouhia case, it seems that the more insecurity has grown, the more opaque the security institution has become.
‘Where’s our Oil?’ : the (continued) confusion of politics and resource management in Tunisia
“Winou el pétrole?”—Where is the oil? began to draw the attention of the media since the end of May when citizens hit the street with signs, and has gained considerable visibility since last week when demonstrations in the capital and the south of the country turned into violent confrontations between protesters and security forces. Furthermore, doubts regarding the movement’s beginning as a spontaneous social media campaign and uncertainty about the authenticity of its objectives have stirred controversy and warranted the response of the political figure and government officials.
US State Department – Working for or Against a Pluralistic and Free Media in Tunisia?
The agitation that a democratic model allows represents a prompt for open, substantial discussion, create space for questions to form and answers to be formulated, for awareness to shift and public opinion to fluctuate and controversy to take its course … For over a decade, Nawaat has been a platform many of whose contributors are quick to question, criticize, and call out the Tunisian and foreign governments for hypocrisy, complicity, exploit, corruption…the very symptoms of defective governance that were renounced by youth and activists and journalists of the so-called Arab Spring, the same individuals whom Western democracies and international agencies have so effusively commended for their courage and commitment to changing the status quo. And so inevitably it feels like something of a betrayal when requests for more specific information and questions regarding political motives are consistently held at bay, excluded from discussions, or, most conveniently, ignored.
The Balancing Act: Tunisia and its Foreign Allies, Democracy-Building, and Reforms
In Tunisia’s case, there will likely be for many years to come the relentless push, from both without and within, for foreign governments and institutions to supply aid, support, assistance, and know-how to the end/under the pretext of promoting economic growth, social justice, and State accountability. In this context, will Tunisia allow outside interests and impositions to define its foreign relations and, by extension, its own autonomy? or will it remain vigilant, deliberate, and selective in decisions concerning relations with its geographical neighbors, economic ‘partners,’ and strategic ‘friends’?
Four Years After the Kasbah Sit-Ins – Taking Stock of a Revolutionary Mission Confiscated
If major political forces succeeded in controlling the Kasbah, it was largely due to inadequate management on the part of the youth who were the driving force of the occupation. Indeed, confusion and personal conflicts were factors in the movement’s extinction. By now many participants have had time to ruminate these errors. What remains is to shed led upon the movement’s successes. «Through the sit-ins we imposed an ethics threshold which all political parties had to observe, » Azyz Amami told Nawaat; the youth who took part in the movement demonstrated extreme democratic creativity that surpassed old forms of power.
The road to Carthage: a step by step analysis of both electoral campaigns
n their presidential electoral campaigns, both candidates used the same communication vehicles including public speeches, in-field visits with different number and destinations of visits, press conferences and TV interviews. The slogan of the electoral presidential campaign of both candidates focuses on the word “Tunisia.”
The eleventh hour of political transition, according to Essebsi: democrats and non-Islamists vs. Islamists and Marzouki
The prevalence of mud throwing and below-the-belt jabs, the blatant lack of engagement in the very social and economic issues that were at the heart of uprisings four years ago, are certainly not features of a political scene that promises the effective leadership or imminent reforms for which Tunisians have so hoped.
Tunisia: A Revolution Anesthetized ?
Never underestimate the killer instincts of a class whose power and influence are under threat. They bite back, and hard. For make no mistake, with the huge margin of victory Nidaa Tounis managed to muster a few weeks ago in the legislative elections, the bite was a sizable one and subsequently any chance of fundamental social and political change have been dealt an unquantifiable blow.
Tunisia’s Presidential Elections 2014: campaign posters, public communication and political marketing
In this last phase of electoral campaigning, our presidential candidates have flooded television and radio stations to present their political programs. While some have limited public communication to a discourse concerning the constitionally-imposed attributes of a president, others appeal to undecided voters with a discourse devoted to populist issues, and still others have made far-fetched promises that are well beyond their capacity to keep.
Presidential Elections and Political Theater – setting the stage for Tunisia’s new government
In Tunisia’s capital, days before the November 23 presidential elections, the three candidates whose faces appear most frequently across media outlets and whose names are mentioned most often in conversation are Beji Caid Essebsi, Moncef Marzouki, and Hamma Hammami.
As electoral period draws to a close, Tunisia and international partners address immigration, trafficking, and terrorism
Integral to Tunisia’s internal security operations is its cooperation with foreign governments. Partnerships with Italy, France, and the United States address national security as well as regional security issues including immigration, trafficking, and terrorism. The operations of G8 Leader countries in the MENA region are (unofficially but observably) distinctive and complementary: Italy oversees migration in the Mediterranean; France via the Ministry of the Interior focuses on national security and the police, and the United States Department of Defense is engaged in a «war on terrorism.»
Strategic vote, non-vote, and the relative victor–Nidaa Tounes
Secularists defeated Islamists is the verdict most commonly reported in international news outlets; Victory and defeat are relative, Tunisian journalists estimate. The politicization of the secularist-Islamist conflict throughout the Ben Ali’s tenure and the increased occurrences of religious violence after the revolution reflect a true conflict that is by no means the defining feature of the country’s democratic transition nor the 2014 elections. The ISIE’s final tally last week represents «a surprising defeat for the Islamist Nahda party» only for those who do not read beyond the titles of foreign news reports that refrain from examining the intricacies of and history behind party politics over the past four years.