“Jóvenes y activismo político y social en el Magreb: los participantes en el Foro social mundial de Túnez en 2013”. “Young People and Political and Social Activism in the Maghreb: The Participants in the 2013 Tunis World Social Forum”

Participación política y cívica de los jóvenes en África del norte: prácticas, discursos y opiniones

“…In 2011, the division of the parties of the official opposition, the clientelist distribution of hydrocarbon revenues, 6 the announcement by the presidency of a series of reforms and elections, as well as the repression of the first displays of discontent, and the still fresh memory of the violence during the black decade (1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999) made it difficult to form a unified protest movement (Baamara, 2012). Also influential was the still vivid memory of the revolt of October 1988, which, while it opened a period of three years of political liberalisation, ended up polarising society and leading to the violence of the black decade (1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999) (Desrues and Velasco, 2015). However, all of this should not let us forget the existence of the multiple protest movements that have emerged in recent years.…”

“…For example, in Tunisia, where a significant percentage of young people feel that their elders have stolen the revolution from them, many have preferred to participate actively through other means, such as associations or public protest demonstrations and actions, instead of through formal politics, as embodied by political parties. The associative network is thus fertile ground when it comes to defending multiple causes and promoting services and actions of empowerment to the population (Desrues and Velasco, 2015), and in which aspirations can be developed and the social recognition of the community can be attained (Bahri et al, 2019). Nevertheless, it is also a space in which the intense demands of the population on the public authorities are covertly expressed, as well as the distrust that young people who have been socialised fundamentally in an authoritarian context have towards the public authorities.…”

Does gender matter within the Tunisian civil society organizations following the "Arab Spring"? The division of labor and responsibilities among young activists

“…New legislation concerning associations (Decree Law No. 88 of 2011) has offered the population major opportunities for participation (Al-Farshishi, 2016), particularly the young (Mahfoudh Draoui, 2013;Desrues &Velasco, 2015 and, something that has enabled the number of registered associations to double between 2011 and 2015, rising from around 9,000 to more than 18,000 organizations. The freedom enjoyed by associative activism quickly disturbed the Tunisian government, which from the 2016 to the current President, Kais Saied, tries to regain control over the funding, activities, and ultimately the foundation of associations.…”

Participation, association-building and dissent in North Africa: the various dimensions of youth activism, from the fall of Ben Ali to the revolt against Bouteflika (2011–2019)

“…The authors of the articles regularly spend time in the various Maghrebi territories and use a range of research techniques, chosen according to their research subjects and objectives. To be sure, ethnographic studies (Ratiba Hadj-Moussa and Giovanni Cordova) and qualitative methodologies such as life histories, in-depth interviews, and focus groups (Ben Mami & Gobe, Vacchiano & Afailal, Schwarz, and Thieux) are more prevalent in this special issue than quantitative methods such as surveys employing questionnaires ( Desrues & Velasco Arranz 2015). This special issue, coordinated by Thierry Desrues and Marta Garcia de Paredes (IESA-CSIC), seeks to contribute to the understanding of the situation of young people in the Maghreb and their individual and collective modalities of social and political expressionas well as the crisis of mediation and representation that has been felt across the Maghreb.…”