The Search for Citizenship in Bin Ali's Tunisia: Democracy versus Unity

Abstract

Commitment to unity can hinder democracy, rendering the search for pluralism into an exercise in political singularity. I contest the thesis within the theory of democratic transition that national cohesion and ethnic homogeneity are essential preconditions for democracy. Tunisia is an ethnically homogeneous society, but seems to be unable to seize on the opportunity to transcend the threshold of democracy. The Tunisian example suggests that democracy (that is, an ethos of toleration of difference), should be rethought as one essential precondition for cohesion within democratising polities. The analysis unpacks how ‘fragmented’ politics works in the North African country. Politics becomes ‘fragmented’ when ‘loyalty’ to the state's discourse of ‘citizenship’ and ‘identity’, becomes the one distinguishing feature by which political community is defined and membership within it is determined. National unity is another word for political uniformity. Thus understood the state's imperative of unity and uniformity contradicts political pluralism and demotes rather than promotes democratic development.

Appropriating Democratic Discourse in North Africa

“…[ by ousting his predecessor, Habib Bourguiba, in a bloodless coup that Ben ʿAli called "the Change." Among Ben ʿAli's stated commitments from the beginning of his reign were the promotion of political pluralism, the elimination of presidency-for-life, and democratization (Sadiki, 2002b). While some observers were initially optimistic about the potential for political change in Tunisia (Anderson, 1991), more recent scholarship argues that the only transition that has taken place since 1987 "has been from single party rule to ruling party hegemony," with many Bourguiba-era practices remaining in place, cloaked in discourses of pluralism and representation (Sadiki, 2002b).…”

Islamists, Secularists and Old Regime Elites in Tunisia: bargained Competition

“…The campaign expanded in August, attracting more than 100,000 demonstrators. This allowed Nidaa Tounes to use public opinion to reverse the balance of power established on the basis of the 2011 elections and to present itself as a corrective force in the transformation, playing Ben Ali's traditional repertoires of national unity and a particular Tunisian identity (Sadiki, 2002) against what it labelled Ennahda's 'foreign ideology' -that is, its alleged control by Qatar and the international organization of the Muslim Brotherhood.…”

Salafism, liberalism, and democratic learning in Tunisia

“…While authoritarian rule ensured the negation of the pluralism existing in society (Sadiki 2002), post authoritarian politics saw the explosion of such pluralism on the public scene. According to the democratisation literature this can be highly problematic because too many socio-economic and identity-based demands on a weak system can trigger the collapse of the transitional institutions, facilitating the potential return of authoritarian rule.…”