Tunisian Revolution-Arab Spring

Dans Les ibadites. Mode de vie, organisation et patrimoine d’une minorité musulmane dans le Maghreb en ébullition, dossier central de la revue Horizons Maghrébins, 76, 2017, p. 151-160.  Photographies : Axel Derriks.
Cet article compare l’état de conservation de quarante mosquées ibadites de l’île de Djerba entre 2002 et 2016. Quatorze mosquées ont été entièrement préservées, cinq ont été modérément endommagées, onze ont été complètement défigurées, notamment par l’ajout d’un haut minaret étranger à l’architecture locale. Dix mosquées ont été victimes de dégradations volontaires, qu’il s’agisse de pillage, de chasse au trésor, de profanation ou de confiscation arbitraire du lieu de culte par des groupes extrémistes.

THE TURN المنعرج presents artistic interventions that emerged in the wake of the Arab Revolution. They are committed to collaborative action and direct engagement in relation to the prevailing social climate. They are ambitious art projects that aim to have a transformative impact on society and envision – together with the citizens of Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Syria – scenarios and solutions for a better future.

The national trade union as an institution was created as a result the industrial revolution and has depended on the simultaneous proliferation of the industrial sector in each country. As labor was forced into modernity via the leveraging of wages, so too was the work force galvanized to stave off the most harmful working conditions by means of the formation of trade and labor unions. Many countries have significant proportions of their working populations involved in a trade union. However, the efficacy and impact of these unions as effective avenues to pursue labor rights remains contentious.

Whilst often mentioned and sometimes hammered out, the “economic origins” of the revolution have mostly been ignored. Why is that so? The article attempts to explain this surprising oversight. The emphasis on what was at stake with “the democratic ground rules” has perniciously diverted attention away from the daily economic struggles and their (lack of) regulations as well as the political contradictions they entail. yet, with the end of the “single window approach” of the Democratic Constitutional Rally (Ben Ali’s all-pervasive party), the question of welfare protection and the various shocks it has received remains acute.

Scholars have recently become attentive not only to the institutional designs that constitutions set up, but also to the constitutional change processes. Most authors, who are concerned with the effects the design of constitution-making processes have on outcomes, have focused on the main constitution-making bodies and their characteristics, leaving aside the question of what happens before members of constituent assemblies meet to deliberate. This article makes the point that to better understand constitution-making and its outcomes, we need to take into account the overlooked early stage of constitutional change when political actors debate and set the rules for how a constitution will be made. Building on various political science perspectives and the case study of the 2011–2012 constitutional reform in Egypt, it underscores the inevitably contentious nature of the design of a constitution-making process. It also highlights the impact that unresolved conflicts over the design can have for the agreement on a constitution between political opponents in the context of a democratic transition. In Egypt, adoption of a broadly accepted constitution was hindered by on-going struggles between Islamists and non-Islamists over their preferred constitution-making designs. The article also outlines the factors that make the settlement on constitution-making rules unlikely.

This essay posits American journalism as a particular realm of public knowledge production, inflected with its own professional practices as well as the way in which those practices subjugate technologies of representation. Taking the Arab Spring of 2011 as a case study in journalistic knowledge production, this article analyzes three epistemological conditions underscoring the Arab Spring’s development as an object of knowledge: the use of social media tools within the practice of journalism, the representational authority of the individual reporter, and the articulation of journalistic knowledge to broader institutions of liberal democratic power. While these are by no means the only possible themes of investigation, by looking at how journalistic practices rendered the Arab Spring sensible and worthy of public consideration, this essay hopes to reveal them as temporally and technologically contingent, but also linked to the values of liberal democracy that undergird journalism’s role in American public life.

On s’est beaucoup interrogé sur le pourquoi du « Printemps arabe » mais aucun ouvrage n’avait encore étudié comment il s’était déroulé. Parce que la plupart des chercheurs ici réunis ont observé les événements en direct, ce livre offre une véritable ethnographie des protestations « en train de se faire ».

Les contributions portent sur les pays qui ont connu un changement de régime (Tunisie, Égypte, Yémen, Libye) mais également sur ceux où la répression a permis aux pouvoirs en place de se maintenir au moins temporairement (Syrie, Bahreïn) et sur ceux où les protestations n’ont pas débouché sur une situation révolutionnaire (Maroc, Algérie, Jordanie). L’approche adoptée par les auteurs permet de rendre pleinement compte de la spécificité de chacun des contextes étudiés, montrant comment l’élan révolutionnaire, qui balaie alors le monde arabe, connaît des traductions locales très diverses. L’étude de ces révolutions montre aussi qu’elles ne sont pas une simple éruption spontanée qui viendrait réveiller une société jusque-là apathique mais qu’elles s’enracinent dans l’histoire des contestations de chacun des pays concernés.

Les « témoignages analytiques » proposés ici constituent une source très précieuse pour ceux qui s’efforcent de mieux comprendre le plus grand bouleversement politique survenu dans le monde arabe depuis l’ère des indépendances.

(Tanıtım Bülteninden)
"Arap İsyanları Güncesi", Kuzey Afrika ve Ortadoğu'daki değişimi Türkiye'de en yakından izleyen habercilerden birinin, 3 yıl süresince Tunus, Mısır, Libya ve Suriye'ye gerçekleştirdiği seyahatlerde şahit oldukları üzerine kaleme aldığı bir kitap.

Can Ertuna, Tunus'ta hükümeti deviren eylemlerden, Mısır'da birbirinin peşi sıra gelen iki iktidar değişikliğinin öyküsüne, Libya'daki çöl savaşlarından, Halep'teki kanlı sokak çatışmalarına, İstanbul-Hatay arasındaki "cihat ekspresi"nden, Türkiye-Suriye sınırında yaşananlara kadar birçok olayı, tanıklıklarına, aktarımlara, belgelere dayanarak anlatıyor. Meydanları dolduranların mücadeleleri, rejimlerin sonunu hazırlayan toplumsal koşullar ve uluslararası güç çekişmesinin seyri çerçevesinde, objektif bir habercilik diliyle aktarılıyor.

La Revolución de los Jazmines fue uno de los sucesos más sorprendentes que podían
haber tenido lugar para la comunidad internacional, pero más aún lo fue, que ésta se
extendiese por la franja norte de África, convirtiéndose en el fenómeno ya conocido como
Primavera Árabe. En esta ponencia se trata de explicar el movimiento social que ocasionó y
fue en sí la citada Revolución, que causas había y los problemas sociales de la sociedad
tunecina que motivaron la Revolución de los Jazmines, con su cenit el 14 de enero de 2011,
que provocó la huida del país al exilio en Arabia Saudí, del que fue hasta ese momento su
principal dirigente el Presidente de la República Zine el Abidine Ben Alí, por el profundo
rechazo que sus políticas habían provocado en la población, especialmente en los últimos
años de mandato, marcados por la corrupción del régimen y de la falta de expectativas para

Worldwide, the use of digital communication networks has been a key strategy in activist events involving demonstrations. Its use was evident in the media’s repeated publication of pictures taken on demonstrators’ mobile phones during actions
that have overthrown heads of state during the Arab Spring in 2011. In countries such as Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, social network websites and mobile communication devices (phones and notebooks) were used widely for organizing participants and for recording events.
This work intends to analyze not only how communication technologies have contributed to the emergence of such events but also how image production can be interpreted in such environments. Since the use of social media in protests
caught the attention of broadcasting media in 2009 during demonstrations in Iran, a strong connection can be noticed between the content circulating through digital
communication technologies and the body. For images produced during the Arab Spring, the same is observed with a series of strategies connecting body image and social mobilization.
Our intention is to contribute to the debate of political images, considering the way they have been produced in contemporary society, which deals with a complex environment composed of communication technologies, social organization, and the body itself.

Egypt's January 25 Revolution of 2011 was a dramatic demonstration of the role social media has come to play in radical activism. A key moment was the appearance of the Facebook page "We Are All Khaled Said," which linked activists across the country. But how useful are social media in radical politics? Immense power struggles  took place in virtual arenas. Social media can serve not only as a site of liberation, but also as a place where powerful forces—such the US State Department, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Egyptian military—vie for control over the hearts and minds of the young.

The Egyptian uprising, while in many ways a distinctly Arab event, is also a universal story of power and insurrection in the age of social media.

Im Jahr 2011 bricht die tunesische Revolution aus. Bürgerinnen und Bürger besetzen im ganzen Land öffentliche Plätze, fordern politische Freiheits- und Gleichheitsrechte und soziale Gerechtigkeit. In dieser Studie kommen die Akteurinnen und Akteure der Revolution zu Wort. So werden ihre Motive und ihre politischen Vorstellungen sichtbar. Das Buch gibt Aufschluss über die ideellen Wurzeln der Revolution und fragt nach den Entstehungsbedingungen politischer Praxis und Vorstellungskraft in Kontexten von Protesten.

The 2011 Arab uprisings were initially hailed by many observers in the Western world as the harbinger of a “modern” Middle East. Finally, it was believed, the hegemony of corrupt autocrats and the prolonged “dark age” of the Arab world were coming to an end. In the context of this narrative, the so-called Turkish model gained popularity as a potential guide for the modernization of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Accordingly, modernization has been defined as the inevitable path to a liberal democratic, free-market capitalist, and secular society within non-Western settings. This conceptualization is highly Eurocentric as the contents of modernization are solely limited to the contemporary characteristics of social, economic, and political life in Western Europe and Northern America.

This study criticizes much of the literature on the Arab uprisings, arguing that the excessive enthusiasm shown by Western mainstream media and governments toward the promotion of the Turkish model reveals the limits of their understanding of the complexities of MENA societies and polities. Modernization is actually a highly customizable path whose nature is determined mainly by the contingent socioeconomic and political characteristics of each country. Therefore, in order to develop a generalizable understanding of modernization in the MENA region and beyond, the Eurocentrism of mainstream literature needs to be replaced with more flexible frameworks such as the ones developed in recent years by proponents of postcolonialism, multiple modernities paradigm, and the uneven and combined development theory.

الدولة التي لا تلتزم بضمان مصالح شعبها لا يمكن اعتبارها دولة. المجتمع الذي لا يحترم فيه الفرد باختلافه و لا تقدر خصوصياته و لا توحده راية وطن واحدة لا يرتقي لمستوى مجتمع. إذا اجتمعت هذه الصفتان يمكننا الجزم أننا نعيش ضمن منظومة منهارة وصلت لنقطة اللاعودة. نتائج منظومة مماثلة عامة و لا يمكن حصرها لكن يمكن الحديث عن بعض منها.

تستهدف هذه الدراسة فهم وتقييم حالات الحوار التي جرت – أو حاولت بعض الأطراف إجرائها– في أعقاب الثورات من أجل الديمقراطية في كل من تونس واليمن ومصر وليبيا، وذلك في جميع مراحلها بدءًا من السياق العام الذي تمت فيه عمليات الحوار، مرورًا بتصميم عمليات الحوار ومخرجاتها، وانتهاءً بالتحديات التي تقف أمام تنفيذ مخرجات الحوار أو إجراء حوارات مستقبلية. وذلك كله وصولا إلى تقديم بعض المقترحات لدعم وتنفيذ مبادرات مستقبلية لتحويل النزاعات، وإحلال السلام، وتعزيز عمليات التحول الديمقراطي في الدول محل الدراسة. 

وتستند منهجية هذه الدراسة على مدخل الانتقال إلى الديمقراطية الذي يهتم بتحليل اختيارات ومواقف الفاعلين الأساسيين خلال عملية الانتقال إلى الديمقراطية مع التركيز على طرق التغيير الثوري، ودراسة أثر هذه الاختيارات والمواقف على عملية التغيير، مع عدم تجاوز تأثير محددات السياق العام قبل وبعد الثورات على تلك الاختيارات والمواقف، وذلك بهدف الوصول إلى تقييم موضوعي لعمليات الحوار. ولا شك أن اختيارات الفاعلين السياسيين لا تعمل  في فراغ، كما أن المحددات السياسية والاقتصادية والاجتماعية ليست محددات حتمية لا أثر لعامل الإرادة فيها. وتعتمد أدوات هذه المنهجية على الإطلاع المعمق على عمليات وتجارب ومحاولات الحوار التي تمت في الدول محل الدراسة عبر الأدبيات والتقارير والأعمال التحضيرية واللقاءات والتصريحات ذات الصلة وأعمال الخبراء والمطلعين على شؤون هذه الدول.

وتضم هيكلية الدراسة أربعة أقسام وخاتمة، ونتاول في كل قسم حالة من حالات الدراسة من محاور أربعة،  هي: 

أولا: السياق العام واستكشاف إمكانية الحوار: وهنا ستتم الإجابة عن عدة أسئلة، منها: ما السياق العام الذي تمت فيه عملية الحوار أو تمت الدعوة إليه؟ وما سمات المرحلة التي تلت إسقاط النظم التسلطية في الدول محل الدراسة؟ وما طبيعية العلاقات التي كانت قائمة بين الأطراف الرئيسة؟ وما مدى قابلية هذه الأطراف للمشاركة في حوار حقيقي؟ ولماذا ظهرت الحاجة إلى الحوار؟ وهل سبق عملية التصميم تقييم شامل للسياق والقضايا والأطراف الرئيسة؟

ثانيا: تصميم عملية الحوار: وهنا تعالج الدراسة أسئلة متعددة، منها: هل تم وضع استراتيجية للحوار بأهداف واضحة ووسائل محددة؟ وهل تم تحديد القضايا المحورية والمصالح المختلفة لكل طرف؟ وهل تم تحديد اجراءات لبناء الثقة بين الأطراف؟ وهل تم وضع هيكلية واضحة لعملية الحوار؟ وهل تم تحديد الموارد اللازمة للحوار، ووسائل الإتصال، والأطر الزمنية؟ وهل تم تحديد إجراءات حوكمة فعّالة للحوار؟ وهل من دور لطرف ثالث محلي أو إقليمي أو دولي؟ وهل تمت الإستعانة بخبراء؟

ثالثا: تنفيذ عملية الحوار ومخرجاتها: وفي هذا المحور تعالج الدراسة تقييم عملية الحوار بعد التنفيذ وتحاول الإجابة عن أسئلة مثل: هل كان الحوار شاملا؟ وكيف دارت جلسات الحوار وفعالياته ومداولاته؟ وهل تم التقيد بمنهجية الحوار التي صُممت مسبقا؟ وكيف كانت تتم معالجة المواقف الصعبة؟ وما مواقف كل طرف تجاه القضايا الرئيسة؟ وماذا كان دور الطرف الثالث؟ وهل اتسم هذا الدور بالحياد؟ وكيف كانت مخرجات الحوار؟ هل ظهرت وثائق مكتوبة؟ وكيف يمكن تقييم فعّالية عملية الحوار؟ وما الآثار التي ترتبت على عملية الحوار فيما يتصل بعلاقات أطراف الحوار؟ هل أثمر الحوار نقاطًا أو مصالح مشتركة بين هذه الأطراف أم أن الحوار كشف عن مصالح أكثر تضاربًا؟ وهل أدى الحوار إلى إحداث تغيير ما على المستويات الشخصية والمؤسسية للأطراف المختلفة؟ وهل ساهم الحوار في تحويل النزاع القائم؟ وهل ترتب على الحوار البدء في مسار سياسي لتعزيز عملية الانتقال إلى الديمقراطية؟

رابعا: تحديات عملية الحوار: وهنا ينصب اهتمام الورقة على عدة أسئلة، منها ما العقبات التي ظهرت أثناء وبعد عملية الحوار؟ وهل من عقبات من أطراف لم تشارك في الحوار؟ وهل أظهرت عملية الحوار عقبات جديدة لم تكن في حسبان مصممي منهجية الحوار؟ وهل شكلت الموارد عقبة أمام الحوار؟ وإلى مدى يمكن القول أن محددات السياق العام تمثل عقبة كبيرة أمام الحوار؟ وهل من ضغوط داخلية أو خارجية لإفشال أو انجاح الحوار؟

خاتمة: وفيها نقدم خلاصات مقارنة عن أبرز نتائج الدراسة وأهم الدروس المستفادة من كل عملية حوارية، فضلا عن أهم النقاط المحورية التي يمكن البناء عليها واقتراح مبادرات جديدة لتحويل النزاعات وتعزيز عملية التحول الديمقراطي.

وتجدر الإشارة أخيرا أن الحالتين التونسية واليمنية شهدتا عمليات حوار منظمة وأثمرتا مخرجات محددة، وجدت طريقها إلى التنفيذ في تونس، بينما تعذر تطبيقها في اليمن إلى حد كبير. أما مصر وليبيا فلم تشهدا عمليات حوار شاملة وإنما تجارب حوارية محدودة للغاية لم يترتب عليها نتائج تذكر لتحويل النزاعات وتعزيز مسار الانتقال إلى الديمقراطية. وترتيبا على هذا فإننا سنعالج الحالتين التونسية واليمنية ارتباطا بالمحاور الأربعة السابق الإشارة إليها، أما الحالتان المصرية والليبية فسيتم فيها عرض السياق العام، ومحاولات الحوار، وبعض المقترحات لتأسيس حالة حوار شامل في كل منهما.

The research project The Tunisian Revolution - The Student’s Perspective and Role in its Historical Context (original title: Tunesische Revolution - Perspektiven und Rolle tunesischer Studenten im historischen Kontext) aims to put a personal perspective on the complexity of ideas surrounding the Arab Revolution in Tunisia. The goal is to gain access to the subjective perception of a defined group of the Tunisian society and analyse the ideas they had in mind for the revolution, the mechanisms of the protest movements and the well disputed notion of an ‘Internet Revolution’.
The methodological approach is based on a number of interviews held with Tunisian students and the contextualisation of the information obtained within established historical narratives surrounding the revolution. This way, it is expected to gain access to the questions of a contemporary issue with the methods of the historical sciences. As the nature of this venture is based on dynamic discussions with Tunisian students, the outcome is highly dependent on the evaluation of the information obtained. The interviews, however, have been oriented on three lead questions that will serve as a structure for the analysis: The first is centred around the complexes of identity and ideology in order to situate the participants in the broader phenomenon; a second examines the interviewees’ personal participation in the events since December 2010; and a third approach is aimed to obtain information on networks and patterns of organisation during the protests special regard to the web based aspects of the revolution.

In their search for explanations for the so-called Tunisian paradox under Ben Ali -a country with comparatively high levels of socio-economic development, yet plagued by the absence of a civil society that could push for political liberalization-analysts primarily investigated the gradual co-optation of political institutions and actors. As research and analytical agendas were consumed by the robustness of Ben Ali's authoritarian state, little attention was paid to the development of informal and extra-institutional political activities that existed even under deepening political repression. In hindsight, many of these informal activities clearly contributed to the

This book analyses Turkey’s role in the Arab world and investigates the effects of the Arab Spring on Turkish foreign policy, decision-making and its role. Particular attention is focused on widespread terms such as strategic depth, neo-Ottomans and the Turkish Model. It also provides incisive discussions of the key tenets of the Turkish official responses to Arab revolts and narrates the advantages and challenges that come to forge any potential regional role for Turkey.

Article: The Middle East remains of a major geostrategic importance. Global powers found in the recent developments an opportunity to chart their way into the region; sending troops and reinforcements, rebuilding alliances and restoring old relations. Amidst this chaotic environment, a number of regional forces opted to adopt a different approach: soft power. It is obvious that such forces have found in soft power an efficient tool that can achieve what tanks and jets failed to do. In this article, four soft power models in the Middle East are assessed and analysed: Turkey, Iran, Qatar and Oman.

Noi, rappresentanti del popolo tunisino, membri dell'Assemblea Nazionale Costituente; Con orgoglio per la lotta del nostro popolo al fine di ottenere l'indipendenza e la costruzione dello Stato e, in seguito, per liberarsi dalla tirannia, rispondendo cosi alla sua libera volontà e concretizzando gli obiettivi della rivoluzione, della libertà e della dignità; Con fedeltà al sangue dei nostri martiri e ai sacrifici dei tunisini e delle tunisine nel corso delle generazioni; Per una rottura definitiva con l'ingiustizia, la corruzione e la tirannia;

The scientific literature indicates that there are many complex variables that determined whether the militaries in the Arab Spring turned against their regimes or not. In this paper I focus on three variables that the scientific literature highlights as the most important. These are: (1) organising and structuring of the militaries; (2) identity differences between the military and the general population; and (3) the type and extent of civilian demonstrations. Through a theoretical part, these variables examined in order to create a comprehensive overview, which ends in the creation of three different hypotheses. I illustrate these various dynamics through an analysis of four different countries that experienced demonstrations: Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Syria. I finally argue that Tunisia and Egypt were two similar cases, where both militaries sided with the protesters because of structural factors and large peaceful demonstrations. Libya's military split in two because of structure, identity differences in tribe affiliation within the military, as well as the demonstrations became violent. Syria's military has broken into several parts due to identity differences within the military, extensive coup-proofing of Assad, which goes under organisation and structure, and that the demonstrations were violent. In the conclusion I elaborate the outcome in the various cases.

Although Syria, since the 1960s, has been dominated by a decidedly secular-nationalist regime, the 2011 uprising has demonstrated that the role of Islam in the country’s social and religious scene cannot be underestimated.
The uprising, which turned into a revolution and a civil war, created a deep schism among Sunni Muslim ulema who played an influential role in encouraging/discouraging protests. 
This book explores the views of M.S.R. al-Būtī, one of the most outstanding Muslim Sunni scholars of contemporary Syria (d. 2013). Al-Būtī opposed initial protests and considered the revolution as religiously illegitimate and politically motivated by foreign powers. His stance has  engendered much controversy not only in Syria but also in the Arab as well as the Muslim worlds.
Numerous scholars and authors have interpreted al-Būtī’s stance as full support of the regime and have cited his earlier position against the Muslim Brotherhood Movement in Syria in the 1980s. Others, however, have argued  that al-Būtī was an independent scholar who was following his ijtihad, be it for the benefit of the regime or against it.
Given that most of the writings on al-Būtī’s view on the revolution lacks a clear and comprehensive analysis, the book offers the first sustained treatment of this religio-political issue by exploring its multiple dimensions and various ramifications.

The 'Jasmine Revolution' that toppled Tunisian president Zine al-‘Abidine Ben ‘Ali on January 14, 2011, and the January 25, 2011, uprising that toppled President Husni Mubarak had similar characteristics yet different outcomes. While the Tunisian experience led to democratization and to a non-violent transfer of power, the Egyptian one led to a reversion to authoritarianism through a military coup and to bloodshed. This paper suggests that the key to understanding the diverse outcomes of the Arab Spring in these countries is the prevalence of consensus/dissensus in each society over the most suitable state model for the post-revolutionary era. The existence of an agreed-upon vision for the post-Arab Spring state in Tunisia – a vision of a 'civil state' – and a wide controversy over such a model in Egypt was a pivotal factor influencing the level of socio-political cohesion during the transitional period, hence determining whether it is destined for success or failure. The prior agreement between Islamist and Secularist opposition groups over the civil state model spared Tunisia the turmoil that Egypt went through due to the polarization over the desired state model in the post-Mubarak era, which served as a catalyst for the 2013 soft coup against the Muslim Brothers elected regime.

We are fortunate, however, that two Tunisian journalists, Abdelaziz Belkhodja and Tarek Cheikhrouhou, undertook the colossal task of researching the events of the Tunisian revolution, leaving no stone unturned in their quest for the truth. The result of their meticulous work is an important book, 14 January: The Investigation (2014), which takes us on a detailed, hour-by-hour journey of what transpired during the Tunisian revolution. The book is the result of a rigorous investigation, numerous interviews with the key players in those crucial last hours of the Ben Ali regime, and access to a number of military intelligence reports and official government meeting reports, making the product a serious work of investigative journalism, the likes of which the Arabic-speaking world has not seen in decades. Perhaps more important, all the accompanying documents and testimonials have been published by the two authors on a website dedicated to the book.
A HOOVER INSTITUTION ESSAY
The Story of the Tunisian Revolution
SAMUEL TADROS
http://www.hoover.org/sites/default/files/research/docs/tadros_tunisianrevolution_final__1.pdf