Démocratie 45
Media Vanessa Szakal13 April 2014

Jomâa and Barack Open the Strategic Dialogue – American Media on the Tunisia-US Partnership

Perusing the articles available in American media on Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa’s visit to Washington, one is faced with the gradation of quality and specificity and attention to detail that exists among different news sources…one is reminded that The Washington Post is a reliable outlet for fluffy pieces about the US’ benevolent role in the so called developing world, for sweeping generalizations about terrorism, the Arab Spring, democracy, etc. Unsurprisingly, most US news sources follow in this line of reporting.

Politics Vanessa Szakal07 April 2014

Weekly Political Review – The Ebb and Flow of Democratic Transition in Tunisia

With Article 15 on the table for debate, peaking intensity of conflicts in Medenine over the closure of Ras Jedid, and Jomâa’s glowing reflections about his visit to Washington, and widespread public cynism about the volatility and apparent inefficiency of politics and politicians, the past week in politics in Tunisia captures the give-and-take, all-but-constant process that is ‘democratic transition’.

Politics Vanessa Szakal04 March 2014

Electoral Law, Political Campaigns, and…Dissolution of the Leagues for the Protection of the Revolution

With the electoral law on the table for discussion, the nomination of several ministry candidates, and the naming of eighteen governors, it is not surprising that election campaigns have rolled into action. Security remains a prominent issue in the National Dialogue and national media, and although the common concern is that insecurity is a block for the political process and efforts to precipitate democratic elections this year

Blogs Mohammed Alsaud21 March 2013

The Ignored Challenges of the Arab Spring Backbone

The last two years witnessed major changes in the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa), Falling down political regimes and starting liberation process in societies which have been living in decades of dictatorships. Those dictatorships were not only on the macro level, the state, but also on the micro level which is the family and even on the personal level.

Themes Rob Prince14 January 2011

Tunisia: Zine Ben Ali Tunisia’s President Flees The Country To Malta

It’s semi official. Zine Ben Ali, Tunisia and his corrupt, oppressive regime are now history. There are numerous reports, including one from Le Monde that Ben Ali is gone and turned the governing of the country over to the Tunisian army. He did this after several press conferences these past days spoken in a language I am told he has not used for 23 years – the Tunisian Arabic dialect – offering the people of his country much of what it is that he has taken away these past decades: economic opportunity and democracy. Too little too late, his concessions were laughed at and did nothing to dampen the opposition.

Themes Ghoma23 August 2006

Islamizing Democracy Or Democratizing Islam ?

As the summer heat rises, it seems, to cause the human folly to follow suit. The guns of August are again at work in many spots in the heart of the so-called Arab world. And the war planners are busy in tweaking its goings and toolings. As it moves from “shock and awe” to more insidious but hopefully -for its planners-moreeffective approach, the so-called […].
Reformism Nouchine Yavari D hellencourt21 June 2005

Islam et démocratie:

Le monde musulman, exposé plus que jamais à des changements sociaux intensifiés par le processus de mondialisation, est devenu un terrain d’observation et d’analyse privilégié. Les chercheurs se penchent plus particulièrement sur les rapports entre tradition et modernité politique, entre islam et démocratie ; tandis que pour les acteurs locaux, la situatio […].
Reformism Marina S. Ottaway18 June 2005

Islamists and Democracy : Keep the Faith

Islamist organizations—that is, organizations that appeal to the religious values and social conservatism of the Arab public in their call for political reform—are the key to democratization in the Arab world. They have considerable support, as measured by the votes they receive when they are allowed to participate in elections, the turnout at their […].
Reformism Nawaat21 February 2005

Democratic culture and extremist Islam

Are Islam and democracy incompatible? The evolution of a radical Turkish Islamic group in Germany suggests that the pursuit of ‘fundamentalist’ goals can itself create the space for a rational appraisal of tradition. By seeking truth in origin and scripture rather than history, successive generations of Islamists may be drawn – even despite themselves – t […].