As much as Tunisia’s initial, post-independence, political transition was influenced by the extent and nature of economic support from the West, the success of the country’s waning post-revolution «democratic transition» is significantly impacted by the same US and EU powers. A misnomer that diminishes the scope and complexity of international alliances and enmities that it encompasses, the Arab-Israeli conflict bears greatly upon Tunisia’s relations with Western democracies, the primary prospective investors and financial backers of political transition in Tunisia for the past half century.
Tunisia: Harmonizing Politics and Media for and before the Elections
As much as instruments to monitor and ensure transparency and the constitutional operation of state powers and processes, the HAICA and the ISIE are, just several months into their roles, equally accountable for their own transparency and constitutional operation. The next six months will not only measure their competency and capacity to fulfill this dual responsability but will more generally decide the nature and successfulness of elections and the direction of the country through and beyond the transition period.
Activist Azyz Amamy and Sabri Ben Mlouka Arrested, Law 52 Polemic Continues
Thirty-one year old blogger and activist Aziz Amami was arrested yesterday, May 12, 2014 in La Goulette, a beachside neighborhood of the capital. Some time between ten and eleven o’clock Monday night, Amami and his friend, photographer Sabri Ben Mlouka, were purportedly pulled over and detained for the possession and consumption of marijuana.
May 1, 2014 – Parliament Passes Electoral Law, Citizens Invoke Right to Work
As ANC deputies finalized the electoral law at Parliament chambers in Bardo, citizens filled capital streets with their presence, carrying posters and flags, chanting and singing the national anthem in honor of the international Labor Day holiday.
The Martyrs of the Revolution Affair– State Justice at Odds with Public Opinion
Is the ‘Martyrs of the Revolution Affair’ that has inundated Tunisian media over the past week symbolic of an already-failing post-revolutionary justice system? Or does it instead reflect the reappearance of the same sort of political corruption that thrived under old regime? Either way, the gaping division between a recent decision announced by Tunisia’s military tribunal and public opinion has Tunisians up in arms or at least on edge about the political, legal, and moral integrity of the State.
Three reasons why Tunisian democracy can succeed
Now, three years after the uprising, Tunisian democracy is showing first signs of maturity, openness and equality, which can be observed in multiple elements on the political spectrum: coalition government (progressive and secular, despite having Islamist nationalistic majority) government voluntarily stepping down to give place to technocratic care-taker cabinet leading the way to the next elections
Amira Yahyaoui Opens the Ebni Tounes Series at Cogite
“What we have in our favor is that current politicians are not used to politics and can be pushed to accept the needs and rights of citizens. And there is no better judge to hold politicians accountable than the citizen. When we make information public, people know what is going on. Transparency must become obligatory.”
Between criminalization and marginalization, Art remains a counter-movement in Tunisia
Two themes that prevail in blogs, reports, news articles, and interviews about art and artists in Tunisia are the gap between politics and people, especially youth, and the criminalization and marginalization of art and artists that has continued after the revolution.
The Times of India highlights «Indian connection» to Tunisia’s progressive constitution
On February 9, 2014, The Times of India published a rather fascinating article. «Kolkata-born Riddhi Dasgupta, the 28-year-old chief draftsperson of British think-tank The Wilberforce Society, was a driving force in advising in the crafting of [Tunisia]’s new constitution.»
Tunisia: Still Waiting for Truth, Accountability and…Planning for Elections
Another week in Tunisia’s politics is charged with mixed emotions. For now, in light of the unresolved and reinvigorated confusion surrounding the Belaid case and the elusive progress being made in election-planning processes, public demands for truth, accountability, and productivity reflect a citizenry eager for change, and still waiting for signs of it.