But which approaches, and in what sequence, are most effective? The SNAP program builds bridges between peacebuilding and nonviolent action practitioners in Tunisia and equips them to determine the most strategic and effective methods from both fields in order to advance justice, promote human rights, and build sustainable peace.
They are critical to protecting communities and deepening their trust in elected governance after decades of authoritarian rule. With these objectives in mind, USIP supports the Tunisian National Police and the National Guard in reforming their training management, pedagogical approaches, and curricula. The Institute conducted a comprehensive assessment of training systems and is providing technical assistance as they transform their training systems to develop a professional, community-oriented security service.
This transparent, participatory dialogue allows Tunisian citizens and security forces to jointly identify and address local and national security challenges. The Institute brought together ministry officials and border guards from Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia for a series of workshops to develop a strategic action plan. The final document was disseminated to the U.
State Department and the Global Counterterrorism Forum. This article first appeared in the Washington Post. Ten years after the Arab Spring , Tunisia remains the lone success story. While its neighbors collapsed into civil war or renewed dictatorship , Tunisia has broken the mold, transitioning to democracy in and maintaining it since.
The military and security forces stayed out of the fray, political parties came together to find consensus, and well-developed civic institutions helped to mediate the dialogue. Many see Tunisia today as the most democratic country in the Middle East. During the transition, Tunisian politicians won high praise for their willingness to compromise and reach consensus. Beji Caid Essebsi, who served as president from to , and Rached Ghannouchi, the current speaker of the parliament, played a major role in bringing the country together during the crisis of But the emphasis on consensus in the coalition government meant officials largely abandoned controversial but essential demands — transitional justice, security sector reform and structural economic reforms, for instance.
Too much consensus left supporters of both sides disenchanted with compromise and moderation, and more willing to support new, more extreme parties in the elections. Meanwhile, among the Islamists, Ennahda has lost ground to the Karama Coalition, a more hard-line party most recently involved in scuffles in parliament. The fractured, polarized and almost theatrical nature of the parliament today poses a major threat to the democratic transition, with renewed calls for the president to dissolve the assembly and revert to a strong, presidential system.
Consensus politics appear to have produced precisely the polarization and political instability they were designed to avoid. Former autocrats Habib Bourguiba and Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali had fragmented the security sector, marginalizing the military and privileging the police, national guard and presidential guard.
This counterbalancing was a major advantage during the revolution and transition, as the marginalized military stepped aside from Ben Ali and subsequently allowed the transition to proceed without any vested interests. Another key test will be if Saied appoints a prime minister, and if so whom, and how widely that move is supported. This article is more than 3 months old.
Has the president staged a coup as the opposition allege, and what is likely to happen next? An armoured vehicle and razor wire block a side entrance to the Tunisian parliament in Tunis. Read more. Powerbrokers of Arab world will be closely watching Tunisia. Reuse this content.
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