16.07.2024

Institute´s colloquium with Prof. Rachid Ouissa, from Phillipps-University in Marburg

"Current Developments of De-Democratization in Tunesia". Wednesday at 4 p.m in the Seminar Room 124 at the institute of political science

Rachid Ouaissa is Professor for Politics of the Near and Middle East at the CMNS of Philipps-Universität Marburg. He also is Director of the Merian Center for Advanced Studies in the Maghreb (MECAM), located at the University of Tunis. Some of his research and teaching focuses are the rise of fundamentalist movements, the role of the middle classes in the MENA region and rentier economies and governance systems in the Near and Middle East and North Africa.

Tunisia, the first Arab country to overthrow its president during the Arab Spring in 2011, transitioned into the first Arab democracy through a series of peaceful power shifts. From 2014 to 2019, Tunisians elected their representatives and president in free elections, and the 2014 constitution enabled significant progress in global democracy and freedom indices.

However, by 2023, the situation changed. Many of these democratic achievements have been undone under the presidency of Kais Saied, who has accelerated the country's shift towards autocracy. International observers are alarmed by the increasing concentration of power in the hands of the president, the arrest of journalists and opposition figures, the rise of racist discourses, and the use of conspiracy theories to politically weaken his opponents. The reasons for this shift are multifaceted. A primary factor is the lack of trust among Tunisian citizens in democratic institutions and their representatives, who have failed to adequately represent the population's interests. Frustration is widespread over economic policies perceived as unchanged, exacerbating poverty and socioeconomic inequalities compared to the Ben Ali era.

In his lecture, Rachid Ouaissa will explore further reasons behind the increasing de-democratization of the Tunisian system, including the division within the Tunisian political, intellectual, and economic elite.