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Arab Spring and Challenges of Political Transition in Tunisia

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Arab Spring and Challenges of Political Transition in Tunisia ARAB SPRING AND CHALLENGES OF POLITICAL TRANSITION IN TUNISIA THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF Doctor of Philosophy IN WEST ASIAN STUDIES (POLITICAL SCIENCE) BY SAIFUZZAMAN Maulana Azad Library, Aligarh Muslim University UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF PROF. MOHAMMAD GULREZ DEPARTMENT OF WEST ASIAN AND NORTH AFRICAN STUDIES ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH-202002 (INDIA) 2020 DEPARTMENT OF WEST ASIAN & NORTH AFRICAN STUDIES FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY, ALIGARH 202002 ANNEXURE-I CANDIDATE’S DECLARATION I, Saifuzzaman, Department of West Asian & North African Studies certify that the work embodied in this Ph.D. thesis is my own bonafide work carried out by me under supervision of Prof. Mohammad Gulrez at Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. The matter embodied in this thesis has not been submitted for the award of any other degree. I declare that I have faithfully acknowledged, given credit to and referred to the research workers wherever these works have been cited in the text and the body of the thesis. I, further certify that I have not willfully lifted up some other’s work, Para, Text, data, result, etc. reported in the journals, books, magazines, reports, dissertations, thesis, etc., or available at the web-sites and included them in this Ph.D. thesis and cited as my own work. Date: (Signature of Candidate) (Name of the Candidate) Saifuzzaman Maulana AzadCertificat Library,e fromAligarh the Supervisor Muslim University This is to certify that the above statement made by the candidate is correct to the best of my knowledge. Signature of the Supervisor:………………….. Signature of Chairman Name & Designation: Prof. Mohammad Gulrez Professor Department of West Asian & North African Studies, A.M.U., Aligarh DEPARTMENT OF WEST ASIAN & NORTH AFRICAN STUDIES FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY, ALIGARH 202002 ANNEXURE-II COURSE/ COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION/ PRE- SUBMISSION SEMINAR COMPLETION CERTIFCATE This is to certify that Mr. Saifuzzaman, Department of West Asian & North African Studies has satisfactorily completed the course work/ comprehensive examination and pre-submission seminar requirement which is part of his Ph.D. Programme. Maulana Azad Library, Aligarh Muslim University Date: Signature of Chairman DEPARTMENT OF WEST ASIAN & NORTH AFRICAN STUDIES FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY, ALIGARH 202002 ANNEXURE-III COPYRIGHT TRANSFER CERTIFICATE Title of the Thesis: Arab Spring and Challenges of Political Transition in Tunisia Candidate’s Name: SAIFUZZAMAN Copyright Transfer The undersigned hereby assigns to the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh copyright that may exist in and for the above thesis submitted for the award of the Ph. D. degree. Maulana Azad Library, Aligarh Muslim University Signature of Candidate (Saifuzzaman) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS No individual can ever claim to have carried out any work of paramount importance and magnitude without the support of others. Completion of a research work is not an exception. Research endeavor may be a lonely experience, yet it is not possible without the active and practical support of many people. I consider it my duty to acknowledge the support of all those who wished me success and showed active concern towards the completion of this work. It is heartening for me to express my heartfelt thanks to the people who made significant contribution without which the present work would not have been accomplished. From the core of my heart I feel it obligatory to mention that credit in its entirety goes to Almighty Allah Who gave me courage to take up this assignment and that it was His blessing that the work was completed within the prescribed time. Credit goes to all those who prayed for my success and encouraged me at every step to face problems bravely. Words do not support me to express my gratitude that I owe to my supervisor, Prof. Mohammad Gulrez, who proved to be an ever co-operative, sincere in his approach, encouraging and very kind in providing invaluable guidance. I also express my deep sense of indebtedness to my teachers of the department particularly Prof. and Chairman Jawaid Iqubal, Prof. Muhammad Azhar, Prof. Ghulam Mursaleen, Prof. Rakshanda F. Fazili and others for their invaluable suggestions and help in my research work. I owe a profuse favor to the Library Staff: Department of West Asian Studies and North MaulanaAfrican Studies; Azad Department Library, of Aligarh Islamic Studies Muslim West University Asian Studies; Maulana Azad Library, AMU, Aligarh and Embassy of Tunisia in New Delhi, for providing important books and literature relevant to the subject. I am also very thankful to the staff members of Chairman Office, Department of West Asian Studies, AMU, especially Ms. Mehvish Khan and Mr. Afroz Khan who were very cooperative and showed concern for the completion of my work. Generous help of the staff members of staff of the Dean office of International Studies and Social Science, AMU, providing cool and comfort environment for the research work is worth mentioning. i This research work would have been extremely difficult for me to realize without the financial aid provided by University Grants Commission, New Delhi, India as MANF and SRF. I pay very sincerely my gratitude to them. I summon my deepest gratitude to my paternal uncle and Aunt Prof. Muhammad Ismail and Laila Arjuman Bano respectively for enlightening my path with educational treasuries because of which I could complete my research work. My acknowledgement would be incomplete without thanking the biggest source of my strength, my father, Mr. Moniruzzaman and my mother, Mrs. Hasnaara Begum who stood by my side. They encouraged and supported me throughout. Their sacrifices couldn’t be explained in words. Language has its own limits hence my words will not be able to express the contribution of my wife and my children who took added care of family affairs. My sincere thanks to my siblings and all other family members for being with me in my toughest times and for assisting me survive stress. I am also thankful to my seniors and friends Dr. Fatima Anjum, Dr. Atik Ur Rehman, Mrs. Shabana Parween, Mr. Waseem Ahmad, Mrs. Farhat Zabi, Mrs. Asma Khanam and my hostel friends MR. Mujahidul Hoque, Azhar Zargar, Izhar Ahmad for their timely help and encouragement. Lastly thanks are also due to all those whom I could not name, for their help and cooperation. Saifuzzaman Maulana Azad Library, Aligarh Muslim University ii Dedicated to My Beloved Grandfather, Grandmother and Uncle Late Abu Tayeb Late Samsun Nehar & Late Badre Alam Abstract Tunisia, the northernmost country of Africa, has for over 3000 years of history and rich cultural heritage, with deep-rooted traditions of openness, peace and progress. Among all the nations of this region—Tunisia is the heart of North Africa. For well over a generation, Tunisia presents itself as an excellent model of a Mediterranean country that is also part of the Arab and African world due to the strength of its society. It is also a nation that excellently combines tradition and modernity. It has great geo-strategic location and diversified civilizations; the country was successively Punic, Roman, Vandal, Byzantine, Arab and Muslim, Ottoman, Husseinite, and a French Protectorate, before gaining independence 20 March 1956. Since independence, Tunisia has truly known only two political leaders: One was Habib Bourguiba and other Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. Habib Bourguiba (1956-1987)—the architect of modern Tunisia, founder and leader of the anticolonial Neo-Destour party, who positioned himself to become the country’s first post-independence president in 1957 and overseer of Tunisia’s first constitution drafting process. Bourguiba and his government implemented extensive policies to modernize the Tunisian state and society. Thirty years later, Bourguiba lost his power base through a military coup lead by his own Prime Minister Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali on 7 November 1987. To celebrate his new leadership, Ben Ali change name of Bourguiba’s party—the Socialist Destourian Party (PSD) into the Rassemblement Constitutionnel Democratique (RCD) and ruled the country. Ben Ali’s twenty-three years rule (1987- 2011) was characterized by reforms and new instability in the domain of governance and development. At theMaulana end of the Azadfirst decade Library, of the Aligarh twenty first Muslim century, University a new phenomenon has engulfed the Arab countries. It started with Mohammed Bouazizi, a Tunisian street vendor committing self-immolation on 17 December 2010. Bouazizi protested against the Tunisia’s corrupt and autocratic regime. The events as followed sparked a symbolic fire in the entire Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region; people started protesting and rebelling against their political regimes, with severe political consequences. Within a limited time, decades old regimes and their leaders were forced from power: Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia; Gadhafi in Libya; Ali Abdullah Saleh in Yemen; and most dramatically Hosni Mubarak in Egypt. 1 Monarchies in Morocco, Jordan and Bahrain ratified reforms to varying degrees in attempts to stave off wider scale protests. Terribly, Syria descended into a vicious civil war. The events also had impact on other North Africa and Middle East countries that include Algeria, Mauritania, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Djibouti, Uganda, Western Sahara and Palestine. Tunisian real revolution for a change was neither Islamists nor foreign troops that toppled the dictator in Tunisia but it is a culmination of the socio-economic crisis and political oppression that exist in the region. In October 2011 Tunisians took part in first post revolution election to elect a constituent assembly, responsible for drafting the new constitution. The country’s first constitution since Ben Ali was ousted in 2011 was accepted by Parliament on 27 January 2014. The present study is a modest attempt to analyse the democratic transition in Tunisia and the reasons behind its success. It starts by examining the nature of democracy and the different factors that affect democratic transition.
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