Parution : Pietro Marzo, International Dynamics of Tunisian Democratisation, Edinburgh University Press, 2025

International Dynamics of Tunisian Democratisation

Pietro Marzo

Analyses the democratic transition in Tunisia by exploring its international dimension

• Challenges the idea that democracy promotion in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) always produces meaningless and counterproductive results
• Investigates the strengths, flaws and unintended consequences of internationally assisted democracy promotion in Tunisian democratization
• Explains how geopolitical factors are important for understanding processes of democratisation and authoritarianism that Tunisia has experienced in recent decades

This book focuses on international dynamics and global factors that surrounded Ben Ali’s regime breakdown and the subsequent democratisation process in Tunisia. Relying on extensive fieldwork, the research explores the interplay between international and national actors and presents two main arguments. First, it shows that although Western states officially remained allies of Ben Ali until the end of his regime (1987-2011), democracy promoters and international actors in part supported debate and interactions among Tunisian individuals and groups with critical views of his rule and policies. These activities fostered the emergence of alternative discourses and potential coalitions, eventually weakening the internal and external legitimacy of the Ben Ali regime. Second, the book argues that between 2011 and 2021 international assistance helped Tunisian transitional elites to build a procedural democracy. Yet foreign assistance and democracy promotion devoted less effort to boost more substantive aspects of democratisation, indirectly contributing to the rise of popular disillusion with democratic governance.

À retrouver sur le site de l’éditeur

Chargé de diffusion scientifique

Voir tous les articles