The End of Authoritarian Rule and the Mythology of Tunisia under Ben Ali

The European Union and neoliberal governmentality: Twinning in Tunisia and Egypt

“…The blame still lies in local capacities, whereas internationally supported aid, credit and loan programmes that have backed Arab regimes in return for neoliberal adjustment programmes and reform measures are hardly questioned through reflexive engagement. For instance, with its exclusive interest in the local, the Twinning instrument keeps its hands off the close relations and alliances that Tunisian and Egyptian bureaucrats and elites have developed with foreign companies, institutions and states with neoliberal economic goals (Cavatorta and Haugbølle, 2012;Kandil, 2012). This makes the Twinning instrument an act of neoliberal governmentality.…”

“…The emphasis on development capacity, however, leaves untouched the three decades of (neo)liberal economic reforms implemented by Tunisian and Egyptian governments since the 1980s (Bergh, 2012;Pace and Cavatorta, 2012). The construction of reality around local capacities inevitably distances attention from the national market liberalisation and privatisation policies in these two countries that have generated mass poverty and uneven economic growth, worsened income inequalities and urban disparities, exacerbated unemployment, social exclusion and marginalisation, deepened rural underdevelopment, and widened local, national and regional asymmetries (Cavatorta and Haugbølle, 2012;Ismail, 2011;Volpi, 2013).…”

“…The US, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations and its agencies have been strong supporters and financers of neoliberal policies and economic adjustment programmes implemented by Tunisian and Egyptian governments since the 1980s. They have played a significant role in entrenching market liberalisation processes in the two countries by making their aid, credit and loan programmes conditional upon neoliberal adjustment programmes and reform measures (Cavatorta and Haugbølle, 2012;Kandil, 2012). Therefore, an interesting question is: how does the Twinning instrument contribute to the transnational dimension of neoliberalism in Egypt and Tunisia?…”

EU Democracy Promotion and the Arab Spring

“…Ben Ali and the ruling elite were increasingly perceived as corrupt and unresponsive to the demands and needs of the population, clinging to political power for purely personal gain (Sika 2013). In late 2010, there was obviously a high level of pent-up frustration and a great potential for mobilization in the Tunisian society (Cavatorta and Haugbølle 2012). At the same time, any protest had to defy the regime's legal limits of political participation, immediately bringing it into a position of fundamental opposition to the regime, and suggesting demands for radical change rather than moderate reforms.…”

Salafism in Tunisia: Challenges and Opportunities for Democratization

“…Rather than a country where democracy was being progressively installed, human rights increasingly respected and a market economy delivering high standards of living, Tunisia was a deeply authoritarian state with a predatory economy favoring politically connected elites while the wider population, particularly in working-class and disadvantaged rural regions, suffered from rapidly declining living standards. 9 In this context, the jihadist group Jund Assad ibn el-Furat was set up in 2006, although severely repressed soon afterward. According to Nadhif, All the young people recruited into Jund Assad ibn Furat came under the control of the security services because of their assiduous frequentation of mosques and because of their physical appearance and attire.…”