Tunisia

An Arab Anomaly

Safwan M. Masri

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9780231545020
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: African History
• Index: History

The Arab Spring began and ended with Tunisia. In a region beset by brutal repression, humanitarian disasters, and civil war, Tunisia's Jasmine Revolution alone gave way to a peaceful transition to a functioning democracy. Within four short years, Tunisians passed a progressive constitution, held fair parliamentary elections, and ushered in the country's first-ever democratically elected president. But did Tunisia simply avoid the misfortunes that befell its neighbors, or were there particular features that set the country apart and made it a special case?

In Tunisia: An Arab Anomaly, Safwan M. Masri explores the factors that have shaped the country's exceptional experience. He traces Tunisia's history of reform in the realms of education, religion, and women's rights, arguing that the seeds for today's relatively liberal and democratic society were planted as far back as the middle of the nineteenth century. Masri argues that Tunisia stands out not as a model that can be replicated in other Arab countries, but rather as an anomaly, as its history of reformism set it on a separate trajectory from the rest of the region. The narrative explores notions of identity, the relationship between Islam and society, and the hegemonic role of religion in shaping educational, social, and political agendas across the Arab region. Based on interviews with dozens of experts, leaders, activists, and ordinary citizens, and a synthesis of a rich body of knowledge, Masri provides a sensitive, often personal, account that is critical for understanding not only Tunisia but also the broader Arab world.

Notes

Foreword

1. “John F. Kennedy - Defining Liberal,” from a speech by John F. Kennedy accepting the Liberal party nomination for president in 1960, YouTube, posted by NRUN65, December 1, 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3oY93doosg.

2. The fact that Zhou may have misunderstood the question makes the quote no less telling. See Dean Nicholas, “Zhou Enlai’s Famous Saying Debunked,” History Today (blog), June 15, 2011, http://www.historytoday.com/blog/news-blog/dean-nicholas/zhou-enlais-famous-saying-debunked.

3. Jackson Diehl, “Tunisia Boldly Embraces Democracy,” Washington Post, October 26, 2014, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/jackson-diehl-tunisia-boldly-embraces-democracy/2014/10/26/8d86b19a-5adc-11e4-b812-38518ae74c67_story.html?utm_term=.edd06e9e7bba.

4. Norwegian Nobel Committee, “The Nobel Peace Prize for 2015,” press release, October 10, 2015, https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2015/press.html

5. Lisa Anderson, “Political Pacts, Liberalism, and Democracy—the Tunisia National Pact of 1988,” Government and Opposition 26, no. 2 (1991): 260.

Preface

1. Christopher Hitchens, “At the Desert’s Edge,” Vanity Fair, July 2007, http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/07/hitchens200707.

Introduction

1. Michael Slackman, “In Egypt, a New Battle Begins Over the Veil,” New York Times, January 28, 2007, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/weekinreview/28slackman.html.

2. Leon Kaye, “Jordan’s 6,000 Mosques to Be Powered by Solar Energy,” Triple Pundit, February 27, 2015, http://www.triplepundit.com/2015/02/jordans-6000-mosques-powered-solar-energy/; “Health Education and Promotion,” World Health Organization: Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, accessed December 15, 2016, http://www.emro.who.int/health-education/physical-activity/king-abdullah-ii-prize-for-fitness-jordan.html.

3. Kenneth Perkins, A History of Modern Tunisia, 2nd ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014), 6–10.

4. Central Intelligence Agency, “Tunisia,” in World Factbook, accessed December 28, 2015, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ts.html.

5. Norwegian Nobel Committee, “The Nobel Peace Prize for 2015,” press release, October 10, 2015, http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2015/press.html.

1. Can Tunisia Serve as a Model?

1. “Egypt Profile—Timeline,” BBC, accessed January 14, 2016, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13315719.

2. “Tethered by History,” The Economist, July 5, 2014, http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21606286-failures-arab-spring-were-long-time-making-tethered-history.

3. Soumaya Ghannoushi, “Tunisia Is Showing the Arab World How to Nurture Democracy,” The Guardian, October 24, 2014, http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/25/tunisia-arab-world-democracy-elections.

4. “Arab People,” Encyclopedia Britannica, accessed January 12, 2015, http://www.britannica.com/topic/Arab.

5. Philip Khuri Hitti, The Arabs: A Short History (Washington, DC: Regnery, 1998), 7.

6. Christopher Phillips, Everyday Arab Identity: The Daily Reproduction of the Arab World (New York: Routledge, 2013), 10–11.

7. Lahcen Achy, Tunisia’s Economic Challenges (Beirut: Carnegie Middle East Center, 2011), 7; “Trade (% of GDP): Tunisia (2006–2015),” World Bank, accessed July 25, 2016, http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.TRD.GNFS.ZS?locations=TN&start=2006.

8. Ryo Ikeada, The Imperialism of French Decolonisation: French Policy and the Anglo-American Response in Tunisia and Morocco (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015), 198.

9. Bénédicte Gastineau and Frédéric Sandron, La politique de planification familiale en Tunisie (1964–2000) (Paris: Les dossiers du CEPED, 2000), 10.

10. Elisabeth Johansson-Nogués, “Gendering the Arab Spring? Rights and (In)security of Tunisian, Egyptian and Libyan Women,” Security Dialogue 44, no. 5–6 (2013): 393–409.

11. “School Enrollment, Secondary (Gross), Gender Parity Index (GPI): Tunisia (2000–2011),” World Bank, accessed December 15, 2016, http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ENR.SECO.FM.ZS?locations=TN&start=2000; “School Enrollment, T...

Table of contents

• Cover 
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents 
• Maps
• Foreword
• Preface
• Introduction
• I. Tunisian Spring: Timeline of Tunisia’s Revolution
• II. Roots of Tunisian Identity
• III. L’École, la Femme, et “Laïcité”
• Epilogue: An Arab Anomaly
• Acknowledgments
• List of Abbreviations
• Notes
• Glossary
• Selected Bibliography
• Index