Tunisia refuses to become a failed state
As ISIS rips through Syria and
Iraq, Tunisia has remained strong. The state adopted a progressive constitution
in January, which includes a balance of power between a prime minister, chosen
today, and a president which will be elected next month. While others may still
believe this state will fail, I think this constitution is a promising step
towards guaranteeing success.
Elections took place across the
world today, but Tunisia’s was incredibly important to their stability as a
nation and a beacon of hope for those who want to see democracy take place in
the Arab world. The Tunisians, who headed to the polls to vote, made history by
voting for their first post-revolution government today. This marks the end of
three years of transitional governance, that if continued, may have lead
Tunisia to become a failed state because of its instability and unrest.
Regaining political control
took Tunisia another step away from the apparent failure of many other Middle
Eastern nations. There were several parties competing for votes, but the
country’s Islamist Ennahda party is advocating for a unity of all competing
interests after learning from Egypt’s failures when a divisive election led to
a military coup. “We decided that at this stage of the democratic process we need
to unite the country and not to polarize the political scene,” Loti Zitoun, a
senior Ennahda official said to The
Washington Post. By acknowledging this fact, Tunisian political officials
are actively avoiding fractionalization, civil war, social unrest and lack of
political control – all of which are evidence of a failed state.
Like most other Middle Eastern states, Tunisia has a poor
education system, high unemployment and citizens who are Islamic extremists. CNN reported that over 3,000 Tunisians travelled to Syria to fight with
extremist groups like ISIS. This makes Tunisia the single largest contributor
of foreign fighters.
At the same time, gender inequality is still
apparent in Tunisia, which impedes its ability to become a true success and
gain legitimacy with social rights. Yes, women had the right to vote in 1957,
abortion was legalized in 1965 and women had access to birth control ever since
1962, but approximately 23 percent of Tunisian women do not even graduate from
high school. Although Tunisia’s laws may seem progressive, especially compared
to other Middle Eastern states, the reality of life there does not support
gender equality – a tenant of a states ability to achieve success and legitimacy.
However, I don’t see these problems as an immediate threat to
the state. Instead, economic and security threats are much greater with
terrorists invading the surrounding region. With this new coalition government,
perhaps Tunisia will be able to boost the public’s confidence in their ability
to provide security for the nation and thus gain a more immediate legitimacy as
a government.
Sources:
Lauren Mishan: I think it was very interesting how you talked about a lot of the struggles that Tunisia is facing, but yet mentioned the things that the country is doing right that separates them from other countries in the area. Hopefully we will see that with this new government encourages strides in gender equality, and education. If Tunisia can keep ISIS and other terrorist organizations from taking down the government, then the country can start to make inward improvements.
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting. I had no idea Tunisia had such an impact against ISIS and were fighting so hard to stay afloat. Hopefully soon ISIS gets dealt with so it doesn't become worse for Tunisia.
ReplyDeleteSeth Windmuller^
ReplyDeleteIt is impressive how this state is still making strides in advancing politically and gaining control despite the strong terrorist opposition in its area. However, i question how meaningful these democratic movements are when it has much greater issues still to be dealt with between the country, as you mentioned.
ReplyDelete-Karla P.