The Arab Spring began in Tunisia more than four years ago, with the Jasmine Revolution. While the Spring’s promise of democratic representation petered out in other Arab countries, in Tunisia, it has taken hold. The country’s democratic transition has built real momentum.
A new constitution. The election of parliament. And a head of state. The peaceful transition of power. Now, Tunisia is focused on designing and rebuilding government at the state and local levels, and it is evaluating its progress and looking around the world for models of local democracy.
But threats to democracy remain. On March 18, Tunis was the site of a terrorist attack at the country’s national museum that killed more than 20 people. The Islamic State and other Islamist groups have issued threats against the country. And the economy and disparate regions of the country hold their own challenges.
In advance of a major global conference on participatory and direct democracy in Tunisia, we posed a question to Tunisians and scholars of the country: Besides security, what is the most important thing Tunisia must do to complete its transition to democracy successfully?
Push for Regional Development.
Tunisia needs to strengthen its economy and the peacefulness of its society—besides addressing the thorny issue of security. It is absolutely crucial to push for regional development, offering the people in the different regions of the country and from the different social classes an opportunity to take part in building and developing the country.
The reform plans for the regions must come with incentives to kick-start an autonomous regional development and the participation of all. In addition, regional reform needs industry and state institutions in different parts of the country to find ways to work together and complement each other.
Political reforms should be aimed at the young generation, which has had high hopes for real change in politics and society, by improving basic social services and reducing unemployment among the educated.
The authorities have to meet the public’s expectations, by improving transparency, fighting tax evasion, and reducing the importance of the “gray sector” (a reference to off-the-books or unauthorized trading). A climate of confidence and serenity is crucial to attract national and international investors.
The state must be able to control the flow of money through the different NGOs, assuring a better distribution of wealth through a decentralization of power.
Above all, administrative reforms must be tackled without any further delay, simplifying the cumbersome and lengthy procedures of living and doing business here. More transparency is key for the budgeting process. A review of the systems of governance with more autonomy and a better integration into their social and economic environments will help universities to improve their quality.
Lassaad El Asmi is president of the University of Carthage, in Tunisia.
Stabilize the economy and make progress in developing the country inclusively.
On January 14, 2011, Tunisians were united and full of optimism for a better life and more prosperous country. Four years later, Tunisians are divided, worried, and shouting in unison that their hopes have been disappointed. Living conditions have become more difficult since the revolution. Unemployment has reached higher levels, particularly among young people in deprived areas. Investments are down. Inflation affects the entire population. Economic imbalances remain. There is instability in the different regions of the country, and national and local authorities have been unable to control population flows. In fact, this lack of state authority encourages informal channels of business outside the formal channels. And the absence of a clear state policy to provide options out of these problems contributes to the disappointment.
In this context, it is necessary to deal with the most urgent need: to stabilize the economy so that the country can develop in ways that are effective, inclusive, and open to the world. We must reassure private companies because there is no more welfare state. Private initiative is the engine of growth and jobs. For regional development to catch up, it’s helpful to invest in significant projects in the regions, but that is not enough. The interior areas lack infrastructure and skilled jobs, and suffer various forms of discrimination.
The situation requires reforms in education and vocational training that will produce skilled workers. We must raise infrastructure to international standards and create a peaceful social environment. Tunisia must encourage private initiative, and seek to partner with democratic nations and our traditional partners in Europe, America, and Asia.
Finding solutions to socio-economic challenges would address security issues, as well.
The crumbling economy and society of the country, with citizens lonely and increasingly left to fend for themselves, is a breeding ground for terrorism at a time when Tunisia’s security situation is at the crossroads.
Myriam Dkhili works with the TIMUN, the Tunisian International Model United Nations.
Decentralize power
Decentralization is the most important stage of our democratic transition. The decision-making here still comes from central authorities, and it doesn’t react to, or account for, local authorities and cities. There is simply a lack of knowledge about the different places and regions. By activating the power of decentralization, the citizen and his role in society will become more important.
Bilel Tka works with the Association of Young Leaders in Tunisia.
Articulate a Common Vision to Fulfill the Revolution
Four years after the political earthquake of January 2011, the emerging Tunisian state has to face the needs and realities of the different regions and generations. It is confronted with increasing anger and danger, as well as the challenges of structural and systemic underdevelopment.
The main achievement of this earthquake was basically “free word” (free speech). But at the same time we have witnessed the anarchic dismantling of institutions under the guise of “democracy.” We have to draw a difficult conclusion and acknowledge: Freedom of expression has not led to committed citizens, but to a young generation—mainly in the outlying regions—voicing vehemently their demands for development.
There is a need to act urgently.
It has taken so much time to draft the new constitution that has outlined the basic tenets, but it has become increasingly clear that the constitution is not quite in effect yet and is still subject to Ijtihad (the decision-making process in Islamic law through personal interpretation, which is completely independent of any school of jurisprudence).
We must act now to define our vision of development.
It is time to review and rephrase our ideas for reform, putting aside approaches which have spawned systemic corruption and discrepancies in how the reform is being carried out region to region.
We need a common vision of the demands of the revolution: Jobs, freedom, and national dignity.
We have to revive the hope of engaging all citizens in a cultural revolution across the country, setting free creative energies, refocusing and listening to what is being said, and taking action. How to proceed?
Organize workshops bringing together stakeholders and actors around common objectives. But in a participatory manner and toward these goals: Involving and empowering all stakeholders in the promotion of their natural resources and heritage, applying and trying out in the field the methods and instruments of decentralization.
Let’s engage all universities and educational institutions in a national project for the regions to ensure good governance and accountability—driven and followed up by the regions working together.
This is possible—we have the human and material resources.
Aziza Darghouth Medimegh is a sociologist, an international expert in the Middle East and North Africa region, a consultant to major international institutions, and president of the Tun Observatory for Participatory Citizenship. Since 2004, he has specialized in strategic planning and support of change in Tunisia, with involvement in local development and tourism.
Create a System of Justice that Accounts for the Past and Points a Way to the Future
The Jasmine Revolution of 2011 started a new phase in the work of “transitional justice” for Tunisia, in creating a platform for political and social change and human rights that finds enough compatibility between the old regime and revolutionary forces for all to work together. The revolution was also a starting point for deepening the foundations of democracy that can be considered for all Arab countries.
Addressing the legacy of violations against human rights in Tunisia requires us to identify first who was responsible for violations; this is a key principle of transitional justice mechanisms internationally. Then there must be accountability—an accounting of what happened and accountability for those who have been identified as violators.
This requires the establishment of an independent judiciary, free trials conducted by competent judicial departments that conform to the standards of international law and international human rights. Then, standards must be established to compensate fairly the victims of all violations. Such a process will create real reconciliation and further the democratic transition.
Sahar Omar, a Palestinian feminist activist, holds a master’s degree in gender and development studies and a bachelor’s in political science. She is currently working on women’s and youth’s issues.
Educate people about, in, and for democracy
When I was asked the question, the first answer that popped in my mind was a democratic education. I thought twice, and it is still a democratic education.
People and democracy are as closely related as “people” is in the etymology of “democracy,” from the Greek demos and kratos: the power to the people. Democracy is for the people, the warranty that the public space will be managed according to their will. Democracy is all the legislation, policies, institutions, and mechanisms to ensure that the decision-making process is equally shared by the people.
However, the relationship is also from the other side: people power democracy, as they are the ones who build it, protect it, develop it, and act according to its principles. Democracy is a culture; to start, if the people do not understand what democracy is, they cannot implement democratic institutions. We may think that a third party will implement it for us, but it won’t function democratically if the people don’t want it, and having a third party imposing their version of “democracy” is not very democratic!
This is why I believe that the most important thing for implementing a democracy is educating people about, in, and for democracy. Education about democracy is the knowledge about democracy’s mechanisms, models, and institutions. Education in democracy is about the approach: you shouldn’t learn about democracy in a nondemocratic environment, where decisions are made by the trainer or teacher, and where the needs and preferences of the learners are not taken into consideration. And education for democracy is to explore the ways people can act to implement democracy, protect democracy, and further educate people about it.
After a weighty history of dictatorship, Tunisians are lacking a common understanding of democracy, the skills and competencies to build it, and the attitude to practice it. A new program of democratic education for all is very idealistic. So how to realize it?
It is not an easy question. We imagine that this program could be integrated in the curricula of schools and universities, and in the regular professional trainings of all those working in the public sector. It is more complicated to reach all the persons outside these institutions. But it is not impossible; civil society actors can be multipliers and find ways to implement educational programs for their target groups.
Through this education, a democratic culture will be created among the people, and the people themselves will build, practice, and continually evolve the Tunisian democracy.
Mayssa Rekhis is a medical graduate and writer. She is also a trainer in democracy, youth participation, and human rights.
*Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi.
