Current Situation in Tunisia
Before the Arab Spring protests that shook the Middle East in 2011, Tunisia was known to the outside world mostly as a holiday beach resort. The Western media often ignored the less pleasant aspects of living in a police state built by the former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, while the International Monetary Fund held Tunisia as an Arab frontrunner in economic reform and openness to foreign investment.
But this changed with the mass protests that brought down Ben Ali in early 2011, making Tunisia the official birthplace of the Arab Spring, a model for the protests that began to challenge the old order in the rest of the Middle East. And for a while, Tunisia was also regarded as a model of democratic transition for other Arab countries that underwent the upheavals of 2011.
Islamists from the Al Nahda party scored a convincing victory in the first elections held after Ben Ali’s fall. Al Nahda formed a coalition government with two secular parties, demonstrating at the time that different ideological camps could join forces in building a democratic political order.
But situation in Tunisia began to deteriorate in 2012. A minority of well-organized hardline Islamists from various Salafist groups demanded a strict implementation of Sharia, the Islamic law. This led to clashes between the Salafists and their secular opponents, who in turn accused the ruling Al Nahda party of turning a blind eye to religious extremism.
Many Tunisians feared that underneath Al Nahda’s rhetoric, the party’s leadership harbored a hidden Islamist agenda that aimed to reverse Tunisia’s secular traditions. The ruling Islamists, on the other hand, accused their rivals of trying to undermine a democratically-elected government. The talks on a new constitution stalled. In this situation, little was being done to address youth unemployment, a major catalyst for the 2011 uprising.
The overthrow of an Islamist president in Egypt in mid-2013 and bloody clashes in that country raised fears that Tunisia too will explode in violence between Islamists and secularists. Social unrest is brewing. Finding consensus on a new constitution, followed by fresh parliamentary elections, is key to keeping the transition on track and salvaging the gains of the historical democratic changes in Tunisia.
A leftist opposition leader was gunned down on July 25, a second assassination targeting secular politicians in six months. Mohammed Brahmi was an outspoken critic of the ruling Al Nahda party. The killing has been blamed on an extremist Islamist Salafist cell that is trying to provoke unrest, but perpetrators remain at large.
Many Tunisians accuse the ruling Islamists of not doing enough to crack down on extremists. Anti-government protests broke out, and some activist groups are calling for the parliament’s dissolution and new elections.
But this changed with the mass protests that brought down Ben Ali in early 2011, making Tunisia the official birthplace of the Arab Spring, a model for the protests that began to challenge the old order in the rest of the Middle East. And for a while, Tunisia was also regarded as a model of democratic transition for other Arab countries that underwent the upheavals of 2011.
- How the Arab Spring Started
- Wikileaks Cable: Tunisian Corruption and President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali
- Geography and History of Tunisia
Islamists from the Al Nahda party scored a convincing victory in the first elections held after Ben Ali’s fall. Al Nahda formed a coalition government with two secular parties, demonstrating at the time that different ideological camps could join forces in building a democratic political order.
But situation in Tunisia began to deteriorate in 2012. A minority of well-organized hardline Islamists from various Salafist groups demanded a strict implementation of Sharia, the Islamic law. This led to clashes between the Salafists and their secular opponents, who in turn accused the ruling Al Nahda party of turning a blind eye to religious extremism.
Many Tunisians feared that underneath Al Nahda’s rhetoric, the party’s leadership harbored a hidden Islamist agenda that aimed to reverse Tunisia’s secular traditions. The ruling Islamists, on the other hand, accused their rivals of trying to undermine a democratically-elected government. The talks on a new constitution stalled. In this situation, little was being done to address youth unemployment, a major catalyst for the 2011 uprising.
The overthrow of an Islamist president in Egypt in mid-2013 and bloody clashes in that country raised fears that Tunisia too will explode in violence between Islamists and secularists. Social unrest is brewing. Finding consensus on a new constitution, followed by fresh parliamentary elections, is key to keeping the transition on track and salvaging the gains of the historical democratic changes in Tunisia.
1. Latest Developments: Secular Opposition Politician Assassinated
A leftist opposition leader was gunned down on July 25, a second assassination targeting secular politicians in six months. Mohammed Brahmi was an outspoken critic of the ruling Al Nahda party. The killing has been blamed on an extremist Islamist Salafist cell that is trying to provoke unrest, but perpetrators remain at large.
Many Tunisians accuse the ruling Islamists of not doing enough to crack down on extremists. Anti-government protests broke out, and some activist groups are calling for the parliament’s dissolution and new elections.
2. Who is in Power in Tunisia
- Al Nahda (Rennaisance) Party: Tunisia’s leading Islamist movement rules in coalition with the Congress for the Republic and the Ettakatol parties, having won 41% of parliamentary seats in 2011 elections. A crackdown by Ben Ali’s secular dictatorship in early 1990s prompted a violent backlash, but under the leadership of Rachid al-Ghannouchi the party later renounced all violence and endorsed democracy. Al Nahda is a socially conservative party that backs a free market economy, and says it is willing to compromise on the extent to which Islamic law should be included in the constitution.
- Prime Minister Ali Larayedh: Having served as interior minister in Al Nahda-led cabinet, Larayedh took over as prime minister in early 2013. He is a party veteran who spent 15 years in Ben Ali’s jails. Many secular Tunisians accuse Larayedh of reluctance in confronting Salafist extremists.
3. Tunisia’s Opposition
- Progressive Democratic Party (PDP): Opposition politics was curtailed under Ben Ali’s regime, but Tunisia now sports a vibrant political scene representing a range of ideological currents. The PDP is the largest opposition party in parliament, with a left-wing secular agenda. While lagging behind Al Nahda in terms of party organization and popular appeal, the opposition can count on the parties currently in power to bear the brunt of the public’s discontent over poor economic conditions after the 2011 uprising.
- Tunisia’s Salafists: Salafists are ultra-conservative Islamists who reject democracy in favor of establishing a strict Islamic state. A minority movement in Tunisia, various Islamist groups began to assert themselves after Ben Ali’s fall, and the most violent Salafist cells engaged in attacks on secular Tunisians. Salafists are at odds with the ruling Islamists from Al Nahda party, accusing them of being too moderate.
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