January 14, 2011, January 14, 2021. It has been ten years since Tunisia put an end to the Ben Ali era. A decade later, where is this small Maghreb country, precursor of the Arab Spring? Elements ...

Tunisia: "We are in a period of learning about democracy"

During the third anniversary of the Tunisian revolution, December 17, 2013 (illustrative image).

REUTERS / Zoubeir Souissi

Text by: Anne Bernas Follow

8 min

January 14, 2011, January 14, 2021. It has been ten years since Tunisia put an end to the Ben Ali era.

A decade later, where is this small Maghreb country, precursor of the Arab Spring?

Elements of response with Sophie Bessis, historian, specialist in sub-Saharan Africa and the Maghreb.

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RFI: What conclusions can we draw from the Tunisian revolution, ten years later?

Sophie Bessis:

It would take pages and pages to take stock of what happened in December 2010 and January 2011. The way I could sum it up is that Tunisians first chased away a dictator, brought down an authoritarian regime.

This is the first and most important achievement, and the problems that the country is currently experiencing in Tunisia cannot call it into question.

Then, Tunisia gave itself a regime totally different from the regimes that had been in place since independence in 1956, that is to say the presidency of Bourguiba and that of Ben Ali - what different, they all have both were authoritarian regimes.

This is the first assessment that can be drawn, with the consequences of the establishment of a second republic with the Constitution adopted in January 2014, and a certain number of achievements, such as freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, and alternation, if one can call it that, in favor of completely transparent elections, since since January 2011, Tunisia has had three elections: that of the Constituent Assembly in 2011 , the first legislative and presidential elections in 2014 and the last in October 2019. So much for the institutional and political framework.

Now, these ten years which separate us from the revolution have their dark part insofar as the economic and social questions have not yet been resolved and that Tunisian democracy is still in a period of “learning”.

And this learning takes place under painful and difficult conditions.

► To read also: January 14, 2011, the Ben Ali era ends in Tunisia

We even have the impression that the economic and social situation is worsening ...

Indeed, the economic and social situation is today extremely difficult in Tunisia, all the economic and social indicators are in the red, undoubtedly.

In this regard, the ten years that have just passed since the revolution have seen no attempt to resolve economic and social questions, whereas this revolution, the insurgency of December 2010 and January 2011, was first of all caused by social dissatisfaction among the country's most disadvantaged populations.

But, unfortunately, the Tunisian political class which took the reins of power after the revolution did not have the ambition to solve the economic and social problems facing Tunisia.

The Troika, under Islamist domination after the Constituent Assembly elections in October 2011 and which lasted until the end of 2013, did not tackle these issues at all.

This government ideologized the transition by highlighting identity issues and Tunisia's membership in the Arab-Islamic area, therefore by attempting to re-Islamize Tunisian society in a very conservative sense.

This has been this government's priority.

We must not forget, however, that any revolution, any change of regime, induces a period of instability, which period of instability was confronted with an international situation which was not brilliant and with internal upheavals which were not. not either, starting with the terrorist attacks which had an extremely serious impact on Tunisia: they brought the tourism sector, a very important sector of the economy, to its knees.

Since 2014, since the election to the presidency of the late Caïd Essebsi, we have witnessed the establishment of governments which have in fact tried to fill in the gaps, to deal with the most urgent, without having any global vision, no strategic vision, how Tunisia could get off to a good start in economic matters, and resolve the issue of social inequalities, an issue which is extremely serious today and which is worsening day by day.

Since October 2019, since the last elections, we have witnessed government instability which prohibits any long-term vision of the future of Tunisia.

► To read also: [Report] The disappointment in Tunis, ten years after the revolution

Could this situation escalate?

History never happens the same way.

We have a whole rhetoric today which says that Tunisia is heading towards a second revolution.

No.

History does not repeat itself.

There is violence today in Tunisia, there is social violence, there are repeated strikes, occupations.

Tunisia is not a quiet country today.

This is the first thing to notice.

And it probably won't escalate into a general uprising.

These are things localized for claims, many of which are legitimate and others that are quite corporatist.

Rather, I believe that Tunisia is going through an extremely difficult period which is not over.

Social and economic indicators are therefore still in the red.

The problem is political, insofar as the political class that is in the driver's seat does not seem able to resolve the pressing questions facing the country.

There is a lot of talk today about a new national dialogue that would allow the country to get out of the rut, like the national dialogue of summer 2013 which had made it possible to avoid a deep political crisis.

Will this dialogue take place?

Will there be a consensus on how Tunisia can get out of this bad patch?

It is very difficult to say today, especially since the Assembly of People's Representatives - the Tunisian National Assembly - is made up of a myriad of parties which have only their own interests as their horizon, the interests of their leaders and which are devoured by political egos that do not serve the interest of the country.

Could we say that the revolution is not over yet

The revolutionary event is over.

It took place in 2010-2011 and lasted for a few months.

Now, the break that this revolutionary event made in the history of Tunisia has opened a new sequence of this history.

This new sequence is only in its infancy, it's obvious.

There is no end to this new streak.

We are in a period of learning democracy, of painful learning.

There are gains, there are absolutely huge loopholes, but Tunisia is starting a different story with difficulties which are very worrying today.

Of course, this streak has only just begun and is far from over.

How can we explain that Tunisia is the only country that has succeeded in its Arab Spring

Each country has a specific history.

What we often do not understand in the West is that the Arab countries are not all formatted on the same mold.

There are fundamental differences between these countries.

Indeed, almost all of the countries that have experienced uprisings, things ended either with dictatorial restorations as in Egypt, or by atrocious wars as in Syria, or by foreign interventions which worsened the situation as in Yemen. .

Tunisia has effectively escaped these catastrophic scenarios.

It is in a difficult period, but it has fallen neither into total chaos, nor into war, nor into dictatorial restoration.

Tunisia has political traditions which have made it possible to maintain channels of dialogue between the different political actors.

It has undergone much greater societal modernization than some other countries in the region.

This societal modernization, in particular the modernization of the condition of women and the status of women (who have, moreover, been extremely important actors of the last decade) means that today there is an active civil society which has enabled , also by the organizations (which also took part in the national dialogue), to compensate for the shortcomings of the State, which also made it possible not to sink into the chaos into which other countries have fallen.

Perhaps there is a Tunisian specificity.

We will see what it will give in the future.

It is not sure that it will allow the country to escape other serious dangers, but for the moment this specificity has made it possible for Tunisia to follow a difficult path but to follow it anyway. .

Tunisia: "We are in a period of learning about democracy"

Tunisia: "We are in a period of learning about democracy"

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