Defending Tunisia’s constitution
Tunisia faces the challenge of responding to security threats while avoiding a return of the security state that Tunisians rose up against in 2011. It’s a rocky but clearly marked path.
Last week’s attack on the Bardo museum right in the heart of Tunis put the spotlight on Tunisia’s vulnerability. The country is rightly hailed for its inclusive transition from dictatorship to democracy, which was carried out by elected civilians. Since the adoption of the new constitution in January 2014, it has also been widely described as the one country in the region that is achieving democratic stability. But the reality is more complicated.
With its weak economy and now even more obvious security challenges, Tunisia could derail in two different ways: on the one hand, the country could gradually be drawn into the regional vortex of violence, if the state fails to respond to the security challenges that have become more acute since neighbouring Libya descended into chaos.
On the other hand, fighting terrorism could lead to the return of the security state that Tunisians rose up against in 2011. The challenge is to avoid both extremes and to stay on the rocky but clearly marked path of strengthening a nascent democracy that defends itself within the parameters of its new constitutional order.
The full article can be read on opendemocracy.net
Photo: Amine Ghrabi/flickr