Tunisia
U.S. Report on Religious Freedom in Middle East
May 20, 2013
Blasphemy and apostasy laws were applied in a discriminatory manner in several Middle Eastern and North African countries in 2012, according to a new report by the U.S. State Department. “These laws are frequently used to repress dissent, to harass political opponents, and to settle personal vendettas,” Secretary of State Kerry said on May 20. more
Tunisia: Secular Opposition Rising
Apr 24, 2013
Tunisia’s secular opposition may be a major contender in presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for late 2013, according to a new paper by Marina Ottaway, a senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Call of Tunisia, an alliance of secular political groups is competing for supporters. In April 2013, it was “running almost even” with the Islamist Ennahda party in public opinion polls. more
Learning Politics in Tunisia
Apr 22, 2013
Two years after the uprising that forced President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali into exile, Tunisians are slowly coming to grips with the reality of politics in a pluralist system where opposition is real and the outcome of political contestation is not predetermined. The process is slow and somewhat uncertain, and it would be premature to conclude that Tunisian politicians have fully embraced not only the concept of democracy but also its concrete implications. more
The Democratic Transition in Tunisia
March 14, 2013 // 10:00am — 11:00am
Radwan Masmoudi, President of Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID), discusses Tunisia’s democratic transition and perspectives for building a national consensus over the new constitution.
The Islamists Are Coming: Who They Really Are
April 18, 2012 // 12:30pm — 2:00pm
As dictatorships fall, parties tied to the Arab world’s conservative religious tradition are getting stronger. An expert panel looks at what this means for the US, Israel, and the world—drawing on the new book, The Islamists Are Coming, by Center expert Robin Wright.
Tunisia’s Islamists Struggle to Rule
April 25, 2012 // 12:00pm — 1:00pm
David Ottaway’s recent visit to Tunisia found Ennahda grappling with daunting challenges as it faces an intense struggle between militant Islamists and secularists and a battered economy.
Learning Politics in Tunisia
Two years after the uprising that forced President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali into exile, Tunisians are slowly coming to grips with the reality of politics in a pluralist system where opposition is real and the outcome of political contestation is not predetermined. The process is slow and somewhat uncertain, and it would be premature to conclude that Tunisian politicians have fully embraced not only the concept of democracy but also its concrete implications.
Violence Unsettles Tunisia’s Democratic Transition
Tunisia’s transition to democracy, widely regarded as the most successful to emerge from the five uprisings that shook the Arab world in 2011, is being seriously threatened by violence in the wake of a prominent leftist politician’s assassination in early February. The killing of Chokri Belaid has not only triggered a showdown within the ruling Islamic Ennahda Party between its moderate and fundamentalist wings but also deepened the hostility between secularists and Islamists within Tunisian society.
The Islamists Are Coming: Who They Really Are
The Islamists Are Coming is the first book to survey the rise of Islamist groups in the wake of the Arab Spring. Often lumped together, the more than 50 Islamist parties with millions of followers now constitute a whole new spectrum—separate from either militants or secular parties. They will shape the new order in the world’s most volatile region more than any other political bloc. Yet they have diverse goals and different constituencies. Sometimes they are even rivals.
Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World
A decade after the 9/11 attacks, this groundbreaking book takes readers deep into rebellions against both autocrats and extremists that are redefining politics, culture, and security threats across the Islamic world. Dialogue interviewed journalist, author, and foreign policy analyst Robin Wright on her book, "Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World."