Mar 25 2011
Democracy in the News 5: Democracy in Tunisia
As we heard in class yesterday, the Harper government has fallen but since a few people have already covered this piece of news, I chose to focus on the development of democracy in Tunisia.
The revolution that took place at the begining of this year in Tunisia has been the impetus for revolutions alike in the Middle East and North Africa. Since then Syria and Libya have also began protesting. Often when countries strive for democracies, they are preoccupied with the concept of attaining it. However, during this, people often forget to ask what happens post-revolution?
An article in The Washington Post suggests that for now “Tunisia is perched delicately between revolutionary exuberance and chaos” but steps are being taken towards the construction of a new democratic system. After 23 years under the authoritarian leadership of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisians are able to take power into their won hands, a concept they are not familiar with. However, Tunisians are ready to be an example for the rest of the Arab world that, to prove that Arab Islamic identities can go hand in hand with democracies. In July, Tunisians will have the opportunity to vote on a 200-member assembly that will elect temporary leaders and until then an interim government is in place, while coalitions of politicians, civil society representatives and lawyers write a new electoral code.
While Tunisia is still in a state of chaos, mainly because the economy has suffered, the country seems to be on the right track towards a democratic regime. Tunisians are well educated, have had a constitution, given women equal rights and banned polygamy unlike most other Islamic countries. Because the “nations wears its Islamic identity lightly” (The Washington Post), some suggest that Tunisia may have an easier time than other nations at assembling a democracy.
However, some Tunisians are still skeptical as former Ben-Ali supporters and associates have formed political parties. Mr.Chawki Tabib, a lawyer form one of the coalitions, has said that these associates of Ben Ali are “trying to create a void in security so as to say that this revolution is heading to chaos, so the Tunisian people will come and say, ‘We want security back and we want things back the way they were’”. Despite this, most Tunisians still see a bright future ahead and have taken steps to aid their neighbours and refugees from Libya during its revolution.
The media is so fixated on sensational revolutions, your focus on the post-revolution situation is crucial.
You utilize a very hopeful tone about the success of democracy in Tunisia. I question the assumption that democracy will be implemented easily. Tunisian people have made it clear they desire freedom, but can we assume this desire will lead to an implementation of democracy?
In order to create a fair democratic country, we need institutional mechanisms to control the government. To avoid corrupt elections or military brutality, we need for example a division of powers, civilian control over police and military, and an independent judiciary.
As you pointed out, Tunisians will be voting in just 4 months.. is this long enough for political institutions to develop enough strength to check power of the new government?
I didn’t mean to make it sound as if it’s going to be “easy”, sorry for the confusion. I did mean to make a statement that it will be easier for Tunisia to launch a democracy than other Middle Eastern states where revolutions and calls for democracy are happening currently. The article is pointing out that because of some previously instituted mechanisms (like a constitution) and the fact that Tunisian women have equal rights as men (unlike many other Middle Eastern countries), it will be easier for the country to develop the institutions necessary for democracy to thrive as they’ve taken some key steps already.
I enjoy this post, because rarely do we ever keep up with the aftermath of anything. For example, we never followed up on how people in New Zealand is coping after the earthquake or do we know what the government is like in Egypt or Tunisia.