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The book comprises two essays, which cover the role of the globally known Tunisian union, UGTT in the revolution and transition (Part I) and the intersections between culture and unionism over a longer period (Part II), they aim to provoke critical inquiry and prospective thinking around the wider contexts of collective subjectivity as a whole, by injecting the labour and cultural dimensions. politics, social; relations and cultural activity intersect in these studies, which attempt to cover the long history of the movement (1920 to the present)
2018
Political transformation scholars identified a new object of research through the course of the so-called “Arab Spring” that began in 2010 - the democratization of Arab countries. However, Tunisia is the only country in which the transformation process resulted in a democratic political system with constitutional rights and free elections, achievements that remain to this day. This paper investigates the importance and role of civil society during the transformation process in Tunisia. Theoretically, this paper integrates a participative framework of civil society with a three-stage-model of democratic transformation, inspired by French philosopher Montesquieu. In the descriptive empirical section, events are summarized that took place between 2000 and 2017. In the subsequent sections, the paper frames events from this period in a historical and sociological context: from the Ottomans until the authoritarian ruler Ben Ali, thereby drawing special attention to the unique evolution of Tunisia’s civil society. The third empirical section investigates the powerful role of the civil society organization and national trade union center Union Générale des Travailleurs Tunisiens (UGTT). Through an interpretive case study, this master thesis demonstrates UGTT’s important role throughout the democratic transformation process in Tunisia.
New Critical Spaces in Transitional Justice: Gender, Art & Memory, 2019
This chapter explores the creation of alternative transitional justice spaces in post-conflict contexts, particularly concentrating on the role of art and the impact of social movements to address human rights abuses. Drawing from post-authoritarian Tunisia, it scrutinizes the work of contemporary youth activists and artists to deal with the past and foster sociopolitical change. Although these vanguard protesters provoked the overthrow of President Zine El Abdine Ben Ali in 2011, the power vacuum was quickly filled by old elites. The exclusion of young revolutionaries from political decision-making led to unprecedented forms of mobilization to account for repression and injustice under the ancien regime. During this process, art served as a medium to create these innovative spaces of deliberation. The study builds on Foucault’s concept of heterotopia – spaces of otherness that are simultaneously physical and mental – to fuel new insights on the challenges associated with generating spaces of memory and accountability. It is based on over three dozen in-depth narrative interviews with local actors and content analysis of art campaigns and collective action. The findings demonstrate that the emergence of this new fragile spatiality is nevertheless contingent on contested visions and memories of Tunisia’s secularist and Islamist political traditions.
in the book Arab Politics Beyond the Uprisings (eds. Thanassis Cambanis and Michael Hanna), 2017, 2017
Pundits and analysts have celebrated Tunisia’s post-revolution transition as a paradigm for peaceful change. Alone among the Arab countries that rose up in 2011, Tunisia successfully adopted a new political system while maintaining relative stability. The popular story of this transition features high-minded secularist heroes who saved the revolution from the hands of bumbling Islamists. But this narrative is deeply flawed. A close look at the 2013 National Dialogue negotiations reveals a more complicated history. In reality, the country averted disaster because Tunisia's three major power players— the trade union (UGTT), the Islamist Ennahda party, and remnants of the old regime— pursued self-interest in a uniquely Tunisian context that ultimately facilitated compromise. The result has been imperfect: old-regime reactionaries fared far better than is commonly understood, and socioeconomic gains remain elusive. Thus, rather than providing an easily exportable model, Tunisia’s National Dialogue carries more complex lessons for other transitions, both within the Arab world and beyond.
On July 25, 2013 the drafting of a new constitution by the Tunisian Constitutional Assembly reached a complete impasse, following the assassination of opposition politician Mohamed Brahmi that very day. Fears mounted that the fragile democratization process would come to a halt. In 2011, free and fair elections had brought the Islamist democratic party Ennahda to power, which had formed a government with two smaller opposition parties. Simultaneously, other " old " opposition forces underwent internal reforms and strengthened their position in the new political landscape. Instead of building strong coalitions, these " old " forces reactivated old struggles and disputes. Only in July 2013, during the critical moment, did the political forces realize that they needed to enter into negotiations and dialogue with each other to save the country. The so-called Quartet was formed, which managed to convince most parties represented in the National Constitutional Assembly to accept their road map and enter into negotiations focusing on three main issues: governmental, constitutional and electoral. The National Dialogue did not unfold as a well-planned process with a thought-through design, but rather was a response to an acute political crisis. Hence, the Tunisian National Dialogue served as an instrument for crisis management, implemented while the crisis was still unfolding. The Tunisian National Dialogue was an ad hoc process, with many actors engaged on different levels and several parts of the process taking place at the same time.
2014
After two years and four drafts, Tunisia’s new constitution was finally approved on January 26, 2014 – the first constitution freely created by a democratic assembly in the Arab world. During the drafting process, many questions were raised about the Islamist Ennahda party's role in writing the new constitution. Did Ennahda and its supporters pursue an aggressive Islamist agenda on matters such as sharia, blasphemy and gender equality? If not, what debates and divisions within the party allowed it to make the necessary compromises and concessions that helped shape the final document? In a new Analysis Paper by the Brookings Doha Center, Monica L. Marks calls for a more nuanced understanding of Ennahda and how it has operated in the Tunisian political scene. Drawing on extensive field research and interviews with Tunisian political figures and activists, Marks argues that Ennahda should be understood as a party of evolving positions and internal debate, rather than an Islamist monolith unwilling to give ground on key issues. While not absolving Ennahda of its mistakes and missteps since the revolution, Marks calls on Tunisian actors and the international community to understand the vulnerabilities and challenges that the party, along with the rest of Tunisia’s political actors, faces in working to shape Tunisia’s future.
Berghof Foundation, 2017
On July 25, 2013 the drafting of a new constitution by the Tunisian Constitutional Assembly reached a complete impasse, following the assassination of opposition politician Mohamed Brahmi that very day. Fears mounted that the fragile democratization process would come to a halt. In 2011, free and fair elections had brought the Islamist democratic party Ennahda to power, which had formed a government with two smaller opposition parties. Simultaneously, other " old " opposition forces underwent internal reforms and strengthened their position in the new political landscape. Instead of building strong coalitions, these " old " forces reactivated old struggles and disputes. Only in July 2013, during the critical moment, did the political forces realize that they needed to enter into negotiations and dialogue with each other to save the country. The so-called Quartet was formed, which managed to convince most parties represented in the National Constitutional Assembly to accept their road map and enter into negotiations focusing on three main issues: governmental, constitutional and electoral. The National Dialogue did not unfold as a well-planned process with a thought-through design, but rather was a response to an acute political crisis. Hence, the Tunisian National Dialogue served as an instrument for crisis management, implemented while the crisis was still unfolding. The Tunisian National Dialogue was an ad hoc process, with many actors engaged on different levels and several parts of the process taking place at the same time.
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2010 IEEE/WIC/ACM International Conference on Web Intelligence and Intelligent Agent Technology, 2010
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Scientific reports, 2018
Erziehungswissenschaftliche Revue, 2017
Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 2018