how did tunisia become a democracy
Though building sustainable institutions for long term growth is critical to success, Tunisia needs help now, which is why since 2012 the United States has helped Tunisia gain access to affordable financing amounting to almost one-and-a-half billion dollars through three loan guarantees. … Since the revolution, we have helped to expand opportunities for women and youth to run for office; as a result, political parties increased their outreach to those audiences in regions outside Tunis and the coastal cities. The consolidation of Tunisia’s democracy has been and remains in the US national interest. A country can be said to be a consolidated democracy, he argued, only when there have been two peaceful transitions of power. Political apathy among Tunisian voters is fuelling dangerous populism. In a country where interest and advocacy groups were previously disallowed or quashed, there are now thousands of registered nongovernmental organizations. If one pillar falls, the whole foundation will be at risk. Tunisia's democracy: Freedom is disappointingly messy, but there's hope Seven years after the Arab Spring, the revolution is being seen as the easy part. We are also enhancing Tunisia’s ability to detect weapons trafficking and increase border security. Taken in by a wave of “democratic enthusiasm” for the “Tunisian model,” very few pointed out that those who did participate in the democratic exercise were less than half of the electorate. Despite these challenges, the Tunisian government has moved forward with economic reforms—reforms that will be more lasting as they are the result of a legitimate political process. Those attacks have deeply wounded the tourism sector, and an already-struggling economy continues to flounder. Defining Its Own Democracy: Tunisia and the Way Forward, Daniel H. Rubinstein The first suggests that, among the polities touched by the Arab Spring, only Tunisia could have made it to democracy. Since 2011, Tunisia has undergone dramatic transformations, perhaps none more obvious than the growth and proliferation of civil society. Tunisia’s relative success is a marked contrast to the abysmal failure of Egypt, the Arab world’s largest and once most influential country. And it bodes well for Tunisia’s future and for the future of its children.…I want the President and the people of Tunisia to know that the United States believes in Tunisia, is invested in its success, and will work as a steady partner for years to come. The United States supports Tunisian citizens and their efforts to strengthen democratic institutions at the local and national levels. Looking for information about the United States? The country—typically thought of as the Arab Spring’s main success story—was proclaimed “country of the year” by The Economist after it held free and fair elections for its first post-revolution parliament and president. We must continue to back that commitment, even as healthy, competitive politics necessarily take root. But Tunisia’s coalition government is fairly distinctive beyond the region, as well. As in Tunisia, Egyptians also overthrew a dictator three years ago. His party, 'Heart of Tunisia', did better in the 2019 parliamentary election where it came in second after Ennahda Movement (19.63%) with 14.55% of the votes. Tunisia has accomplished extraordinary things during the past five years, but those years have not been easy ones. This is the official website of the U.S. Embassy in Tunisia. Such engagement as well as the response to internal threats demonstrates that Tunisia is ready, willing, and able to create an oasis of security in an instable area, but this cannot be accomplished by Tunisians alone. During protests in January 2016, the police showed first-hand the positive effect of that training in the protection of citizens as well as police. Note: This piece first appeared in The Ambassadors Review. Four years after the Jasmine Revolution, “Tunisia very clearly demonstrates that democracy is possible in this part of the world,” says Zied Ladhari, the moderate Islamist Ennahda party’s secretary general. https://tn.usembassy.gov/defining-democracy-tunisia-way-forward Secular parties didn’t have anything equivalent. The outcomes and continued advance of this transition are evident in all levels of Tunisia’s government—preparations for municipal elections and implementation of decentralization are just two examples. Analysts of the two countries have offered lots of answers, but the most common is that Tunisia’s Islamists were just better than Egypt’s. Between 1956 and 2011, Tunisia operated as a de facto one-party state, with politics dominated by the secular Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) under former Presidents Habib Bourguiba and then Zine el Abidine Ben Ali. Tunisia - Tunisia - Government and society: For nearly the entire period between Tunisia’s achievement of independence in 1956 and the Jasmine Revolution, a popular uprising that unseated Pres. That transition is replete with a challenging self-realization, as the country and its citizenry redefine themselves and learn what it means to be a democracy in the wake of the 2011 revolution. Yet alongside those resilient traditions, the Tunisia I returned to is now in its fifth year of the post-Ben Ali era, and is a country in the midst of an exciting but difficult transition. Ben Ali ruled Tunisia with an iron fist from November 1987, following his removal of the founder of the Tunisian Republic, Habib Bourguiba, through what was dubbed a ‘medical coup’. It included a series of street demonstrations which took place in Tunisia, and led to the ousting of longtime president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011. The government is also battling Islamist militants at home, and recent reports have suggested that the Arab world’s only democracy is also its biggest exporter of fighters to join the Islamic State. Despite the huge differences and varieties between them, Tunisians were reunited to protect their revolutionary emblems. It seems that the voices of the defenders of the Arab Spring uprisings attacking those who criticise Tunisia’s democratic “model” have begun to fade as it becomes clearer that the country’s experiment has created a formal democracy void of any social value and has turned into what looks like an old toy being tossed around by children after losing its spark. Programs like the Tunisian American Enterprise Fund (TAEF) exemplify US commitment to invest in small and medium-sized businesses. El-Sisi, Egypt’s current President ran for a second term in an election described by Human Rights Watch as “farcical.” Following the 2011 Tunisian uprisings, democracy seemed to have finally arrived at the doorstep of the Arab World. More importantly, they made a crucial contribution to keeping that democracy afloat. Other assistance programs help Tunisia’s new businesses and young entrepreneurs to drive private sector-led growth and have supported the creation of over 12,000 new and sustainable private sector jobs. More than 20 years ago, the scholar Samuel Huntington established his “two-turnover test” for fledgling democracies. By Touraj Eghtesad This article was written in response to Hella Bennani's article, "Tunisia: A Triumph for Democracy" published on November 11th. The second suggests that what happened in Tunisia could have happened elsewhere, and may yet. The politics of Tunisia takes place within the framework of a unitary semi-presidential representative democratic republic, with a President serving as head of state, Prime Minister as head of government, a unicameral legislature and a court system influenced by French civil law. We applaud Tunisian law enforcement and criminal justice institutions and their increased respect for human rights and rule of law. The youth reassembled and demanded that the ruling al-Nahda or Renaissance prime minister step down. DEMOCRACY DISORDER TUNISIAN DEMOCRACY AT A CROSSROADS 2 INTRODUCTION Since the 2011 revolution, Tunisia has undergone a rapid political transformation to democracy. Two horrific assassinations marred the process in 2013, with prominent leftists shot down. Why democracy took root in Tunisia and not Egypt More than 20 years ago, the scholar Samuel Huntington established his “two-turnover test” for fledgling democracies. Ennahda won only a plurality in the country’s first freely elected legislature — far less than the majority won by Islamist parties in Egypt — and had to govern in coalition with two secular parties. The assistance of the United States and other partners strengthens Tunisia’s long-term chances for success, and in turn makes the Middle East, North Africa and the Mediterranean Basin a better and safer place for all people. Egyptians went to the polls on March 24th of this year. It eventually led to a thorough democratisation of the country and to free and democratic elections. However, in 2011 a But the Tunisian political class dealt with those crises about as well as one could hope. Democracy has not been part of Bourguiba's Tunisia. While still a long way from being a consolidated democracy, the country may yet … What lessons can be learned from its example, and what challenges still await this fledgling democracy? However when it came to forming a new cabinet, Heart of Tunisia was left out of the formation after countless accusations of corruption. Bilateral cooperation continues with benchmarks like the first full US-Tunisia Joint Economic Commission meeting in Washington in May. Social Innovators for Tunisia Workshop Series, Ambassador Donald Blome Met With Minister of Finance Ali Kooli, General Christopher G. Cavoli, U.S. Army Commander for Europe and Africa Visited Tunis to Discuss Preparations for the African Lion, Ambassador Donald Blome met Speaker of Parliament Rached Ghannouchi, How to Register and Be Eligible for a USG Grant. When Tunisia chose its first democratically-elected President in 2014, the United States applauded Tunisia’s political process; we have observed the political maturity shown by Tunisians in the years since as they have forged consensus on matters critical to the country’s continued success. 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