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Tunisia’s Jasmine was brought about through the conjuncture of two Blogging Bouazizi: social movements. Cyberactivists, - The Role of Tunisian Cyberactivists gers, and journalists—many of whom were active in the freedom of the move- Before and After the Jasmine ment—disseminated news of cycles in the interior regions of the country to Revolution national and international actors ultimately leading to mass that resulted in the ouster of long-time dictator Zine el- Abidine Ben Ali. Years on, many of these cyberactivists occupy positions of leader- ship in ’s changing social, political, and economic milieu. This article builds upon a growing literature on the impor- tance of the freedom of the Internet move- ment in Tunisia by examining the chang- Matt Gordner ing role of cyberactivists before and after the Jasmine Revolution through case stud- This article examines the changing role of nascent democratic order. A subsidiary ies of three of its prominent figures: Hous- cyberactivists before and after the Jas- argument is that a new generation of sem Aoudi (Cogite, Wasaibi), Sami Ben mine Revolution through case studies of Tunisian leadership came to the fore of Gharbia (.org), and Haythem el three prominent figures: Houssem Aoudi Tunisia’s private and public spheres to Mekki (MosaiqueFM, Attessia TV). (Cogite, Wasaibi), Sami Ben Gharbia advance the stated aims of the revolu- The main argument presented here is that (Nawaat.org), and Haythem el Mekki tion, including inter alia combating attaining freedom of the Internet follow- (MosaiqueFM, Attessia TV). The main , securing civil liberties, ing the Jasmine Revolution created new argument presented here is that the stemming , and the ever deep- opportunities for success, as well as new attainment of freedom of the Internet ening of pro- reforms. obstacles, for the attainment of many of and the success of the revolt created new the goals of the revolution. While, prior to opportunities for formal political involve- Keywords: Tunisia; Democracy; Revolu- the Jasmine Revolution, activists united ment for the cyberactivists as they tran- tion; Activism; Social Movement Theory; against the regime and for freedom of the sited from dissidents under the Ben Ali Bouazizi Internet, the ouster of Ben Ali led to the regime to citizen-participants of a disaggregation of this movement. Both

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structural and agentive factors are respon- strict controls on freedoms of speech and (Breuer, Landman, and Faquhar 771-2). sible for keeping the movement entrepre- assembly (Wagner 2). Blocked in August 2000, other dissident neurs from reconstituting themselves Social movement theorists have long sites followed suit to pepper Tunisian against the current Tunisian government, noted that the Internet vastly expands the in what amounted to a cat- a coalition between old-guard secular repertoire of collective action available to and-mouse game between the regime and Islamist factions that appears to pri- social movements (McAdam, Tarrow, and and the cyberactivists. In November 2005, oritize “stability” over “democracy” as a Tilly). In 2010, 36.8% of the Tunisian popu- Ben Ali hosted the UN World Summit on trope to re-consolidate power among the lation used the Internet (World Bank); and Information Society (WSIS). In response, political and business elites in what some one-fifth of the youth demographic sub- Nawaat launched a Yezzi Fock (“Enough”) analysts call a “rotten compromise” (Mar- scribed to (Shacker et al.). In the protest, calling for pro-democracy reforms zouki) or “neoliberal consensus” (Mulling lead up to the uprising, the Internet and on 3 October (Hachicha, Yezzi). A one- and Roubaha). Internet activists were significant in a num- month hunger strike which began on 18 ber of ways. First, the Internet was used as October brought together disparate lead- From the Blogosphere, to Bouazizi, and a platform for visual images of regime bru- erships among the Tunisian political elite, Beyond Ben Ali tality (Breuer, Todman, and Farquhar; Lim). closing the divide between Islamists and Five years after the “” revolts, This, in turn, united cross sections of the secularists over freedom of association, only Tunisia appears to be embarking population through what Breuer, Todman, freedom of the press, and a release of upon procedural democratic governance.1 and Farquhar call “emotional mobiliza- political prisoners (Hachicha, Tunisia). The Despite the contentious episodes and tion,” or, in Lim’s words, successful “frame hunger strike culminated in a series of “social non-movements” (Bayat) that pre- alignment.” Social media also facilitated talks inscribed in the “October 18 Commit- ceded it, the Jasmine Revolution appeared collective action by bringing together dis- tee for Rights and Freedoms” (Jourchi 361- “spontaneous” or “surprising” (Kraiem parate geographic, social, and economic 4), drawing the attention of major interna- 219; Lynch 7) in part because Tunisia was a forces (Breuer, Todman, and Farquhar; tional media outlets, and leading to a “least likely” case for the mobilization of Lim; Valeriani). A “digital elite” (Breuer, further tightening of Internet freedoms protests, with high social and economic Todman, and Farquhar) thus acted as (Zuckerman). indicators and the provision of “tactical “brokers” (Valeriani) of these diverse net- Following the 2009 Presidential elections concessions” granted to its population in works, bringing to the fore a new youth in which Ben Ali secured nearly 90% of the order to suppress growing social unrest leadership class in the wake of the ouster vote, police arrested Fatma Riahi (Fatma throughout the 1980s (Cammett, et al. 5; of Ben Ali. Arabica) for believing that she was, or was Breuer, Landman, and Farquhar 766). The Tunisian cyberactivism began from as connected to, “-z-” (debatunisie.com), a Ben Ali regime was one of the most early on as 1998, when “Fetus” and “Water- cyberactivist renowned for satirical com- oppressive throughout the region, with man” founded Takriz (“The Anger”)—a mentaries about the regime. Bloggers and “cyber think and street resistance network” cyberactivists rallied around her cause,

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informing traditional media outlets of the two actions: a protest by the Ministry of rights. Despite regime efforts to stymie the arrest and engaging in wide debate over Technology, and dressing in white while free flow of information, images of Ben Internet freedoms in Tunisia (Lutz). Online having a coffee on the main avenue in Ali’s brutal repression percolated through mobilization and exposure rapidly intensi- down town . The government filters. A “bitter cyberwar” fied: a petition to gather 10,000 signatures also joined the movement from Paris, broke out (Ryan), but journalists and blog- for Internet freedom far exceeded its tar- Montreal, Bonn, and New York (Chomiak, gers were ultimately successful in dissem- get; a Google Documents form was made Revolution 73). inating videos and to international public to list blocked websites, blogs, News of the event went public: “Only news outlets through the Internet and Facebook, and Twitter accounts; cyberac- seven months later, Tunisie en Blanc activ- smuggled USB keys. tivist sites like Nawaat published circum- ists were able to help propel the Jasmine As knowledge of the protests spread vention tools, and mainstream by encouraging similar across the country, Tunisians in the coastal artists, TV (Nessma), and Radio stations debates on the thousands of Facebook regions flooded the streets en masse and (MosaiqueFM) began speaking publicly, pages of Tunisians involved in the January refused to disperse until Ben Ali heeded whether directly or indirectly, about cen- 2011 protests” (Chomiak, Revolution 74). their calls to Degage! (“Get Out!”). After ad sorship and activism (Ben Gharbia, Anti- Over the course of the summer, Houssem hoc attempts to address and quell the pro- Censorship). Aoudi organized the first TedxTalk—a set of testers, and in the face of unrelenting The Facebook page Sayeb Salah (“leave global conferences raising important demonstrations, Ben Ali sought refuge in me in peace”) capitalised on the already issues on social, political and economic on 14 January 2011. popular “Ammar404” slogan loosely issues—in September 2010. Both the pro- depicting an “imaginary person invented test and TedxCartage pushed many The Disaggregation of a Decentralized by Tunisia as a metaphor for the invisible beyond “the traditional circle of activists Movement: From Freedom of the Internet censor blocking their access to many web- online that [were] not politically engaged to Democratic Freedoms in the Post Ben- sites” (Ben Gharbia, Anti-Censorship). Cre- against Ben Ali. So there was a kind of Ali Period ated in May of 2010, by April Salah opening.” (Ben Gharbia). Through a largely youth-led contingent amassed 20,000 members and thousands Following Bouazizi’s self-immolation, a that drew upon the Internet as a medium of pictures (Gana 151). On 17 May 2010, wave of protests swept the interior. Tuni- by which individuals made their griev- and Yassin Ayari created the sian General Labor Union (UGTT) locals ances known—among them anti-corrup- Facebook page Nhar Ala Ammar (“Day began organizing contrary to the direc- tion, youth empowerment, media objec- Against Ammar”). The page drew 5,000 tives from the central bureau to remain tivity, , civil liberties and supporters in the lead-up to a nonviolent loyal to the regime, and a loose coalition democratic participation—a social move- anti-censorship protest on 22 May dubbed of protesters emerged to call for greater ment emerged to confront one of the Tunisie en Blanc (“Tunisia in White”), or economic opportunities, an end to cor- most censorship-heavy regimes in the “The White Tee Shirt Protest,” calling for ruption, and basic political and social . Bloggers, journalists, and

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cyberactivists thus drew upon the Internet advance the issues that each actor pur- Democracy, and the World Bank, among as form of social capital; the Internet as a sued through single-issue NGOs, private others, was founded in the same year. In “social glue that produces cohesion” organizations and associations. 2014, Aoudi became Director of the through a “set of cognitive aptitudes and Media Center for High predispositions.” (Stiglitz, Institutions 60). Houssem Aoudi (TedX, Cogite, Wasabi) Authority for Elections, and he is the cur- Houssem Aoudi describes the transition Houssem Aoudi was one of the organiz- rent President of Tunisian American from the pre- to post-Ben Ali epochs in the ers of the White Tee Shirt Protests as well Young Professionals. following terms: as the founder of TedxCarthage prior to Cogite offers Tunisians two co-working We all had a common enemy even if the onset of the Jasmine Revolution. spaces in the greater Tunis area that house we had different fights. We were figh- Through TedX, Aoudi provided a plat- both individual members as well as orga- ting different battles and it happened form for activists and analysts to publicly nizations, with plans for three additional that all these battles were part of the address the subject of political and eco- spaces in Karouain, , and . The same war with a common enemy. Right nomic reform towards the end of Ben “Founders Forward” in Cogite’s 2014 now that enemy went but the battles Ali’s reign. Following the uprising, Aoudi annual report reads: “At Cogite, we believe stayed the same: freedom of expres- brought the TedxTalks nation-wide, and that the government cannot do it alone, sion, civil society… And those battles there have been more than sixty talks and that everyone should pick up a brush stayed, and each one of us focused held to date. The latest TedX talks, slotted and start painting a better collective on the battles that were closest to his for 1,000 live viewers, were held in April future.” Cogite targets youth in particular, heart. (Interview. 18 Mar.). 2015. The event took just over thirty sec- offering “a home, and a community where onds to sell out, with over 56,000 appli- they can make a difference through entre- Examining the use of web 2.0 by “tech- cants attempting to register for seats preneurship, creative expression, and civil savvies” during the Jasmine Revolution, (Interview. 22 Sept.). In 2013, Aoudi society engagement.” Valeriani posits that “if the decentralized founded Cogite: the first Tunisian co- Under the Ben Ali regime, the barriers to and networked structure of movements working space that doubles as a facility becoming an entrepreneur were implies segmentation in the functions of providing workshops on entrepreneur- extremely high. Small to medium enter- leadership, developing and cultivating the ship, social innovation, and civil society prises comprised over 97% of Tunisian network is possibly the most important building. He founded Wasabi, a social businesses, consisting mostly of small among such functions” (2). Upon attaining business and production company that shops and local services (Hibou 29). Tran- their goal of freedom of the Internet the inter alia promotes youth empowerment, sitioning to a large company ran the risk movement—its participants and its leader- democratic citizenship, and human rights of co-optation, leaving Tunisians today ship—disbanded. However, so-called in partnership with organizations across with relatively little knowledge of business movement entrepreneurs maintained MENA, , and the US, including development and social innovation in the their networks and drew upon them to USAID, the National Endowment for face of a competitive global marketplace.

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Aoudi regards entrepreneurship as “a coordination among different actors due international stakeholders, whether or not glitch in the matrix… I think about entre- to a lack of clarity in the roles and respon- the government agencies represented in preneurship and civil society as entry sibilities of various stakeholders.” The pilot the round table will exert pressure on the points into the matrix. Two Trojan Horses” project studies civil society through two current leadership to follow through with (Interview. 22 Sept.). “prisms:” the development and role of civil their commitments remains to be seen. Wasabi was founded to provide services society since the Jasmine Revolution, as Nonetheless, Aoudi regards the talks as and training in areas where the govern- well as upcoming targets, including the successful inasmuch as it was a conversa- ment has been slow or altogether negli- government’s decentralization plan, local tion-starter between the government and gent to advance substantive forms of elections, and issues of accountability. civil society that represents, in itself, dem- democratic participation: to Among the panelists were Mondher Bous- ocratic procedural mechanisms: work in parallel with the government in nina (President of the Government’s Getting 60 people around that table ways that we would never have worked Office), Rafik Halouani (Mourakiboun), was an achievement. That table was in- together before. With 3000 dinars Chafik Sarsar of ISIE (Instance Supérieure dicative in and of itself. It was only used I’m doing things that the government Indépendante des Elections), Salsabil Klibi twice before: once for the Arab League should have done 5, 10 years ago… It’s and Chawki Gueddass (Association Tunisi- and once for the African Union. So only not my job to do it. It’s the government’s enne de Droit Constitutionnel), Amine dictators sat around that table…. You job. (Interview. 22 Sept.). Ghali (Kawakibi Center) and Mokhtar had the government, some ministries, Hammami (Ministry of the Interior). Around some MP’s, HAICA, the professional Kevin Coyne, one of Wasabi’s project sixty participants took part in the round civil society and some international managers states likewise, that: “pretty tables, including members of the govern- donors and NGOs sitting around the much everything we do is to acknowledge ment and major Tunisian and international same table, speaking their minds com- that the government should do it but civil society organizations. The report, writ- pletely freely and bouncing ideas to we’re doing it instead.” (Interview. 8 Sept.) ten by all participants, concludes that Tuni- each other and coming up with a pa- Perhaps Wasabi’s most successful project sian civil society needs to retain its inde- per at the end of the day…. So if I had thus far was the 14 April 2015 pilot pro- pendence and partisan neutrality in the to describe democracy, I would say this gram called Afkar (“ideas”), which cen- face of government and factional inter- is the picture of democracy, around tered on “Sustainable Civil Society: ventions; the need to focus more on that table. ( Interview. 18 Mar.). Towards Effective Local Governance.” Ini- including women, youth, and marginal- tially remarking on the impressive strides ized communities; and the threat to civil While Aoudi’s Afkar project brought undertaken by Tunisian civil society as a society in the ways in which the govern- together a number of formal partnerships whole, Afkar’s First Edition Report contin- ment attempts to combat terrorism. While in conjunction with Wasabi, coordination ues: “However, the evolution [of civil soci- these are indeed critical issues, and are across organizations and government ety] has suffered from a general lack of frequently discussed among Tunisian and agencies is the exception. For Aoudi, “it’s

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difficult to coordinate all the factions, public opinion on Tunisian politics follow- This position regarding state and citizen especially when you don’t have a common ing the Tunisian revolts, for which it, too, participation is evident in Nawaat’s plat- enemy. It’s easier to rally against a com- has received multiple accolades. Through form: a fluid and inclusive digital space for mon enemy than to rally against a com- Nawaat, Ben Gharbia aims to “influence open criticism and commentary on the mon cause.” The coordination problems, laws and the process of access to informa- state of Tunisian politics and governance. he continues, involve not only organiza- tion and Internet, the right to publish infor- Vanessa Szakal, one of Nawaat’s resident tional constraints: “When we sit around mation, defend citizenship, participatory researchers, views Nawaat’s role as sup- with other people and there are formali- democracy, and building strong citizen planting, in many ways, Tunisia’s traditional ties about making decisions… it makes it media” (Interview. 22 Sept.). Ben Gharbia’s media in “press[ing] individuals and enti- difficult.” As a movement, “[w]e are not dissidence vis-à-vis Tunisia’s post-authori- ties to improve communication with the coordinated any more. We became citi- tarian government is equally hardened, media and the public” through “securing zens. And we are playing our role as citi- but he places equal if not greater onus on interviews and entering into dialogue with zens of civil society.” Rather, Aoudi regards the public to hold the state and main- representatives of government and State his organizations as ideally placed to be stream media accountable: institutions” (Interview. 2 Oct.). Nawaat “part of the conversation with the govern- The state by nature has a police men- thus acts as a parallel news source to per- ment” as it stands. (Interview. 18 Mar.). tality around the world, to control eve- form the function of independent journal- rything and shape public opinion to ists and spawn public debate, since “it Sami Ben Gharbia (Nawaat.org) push for certain laws and positions and became clear that the mainstream media Sami Ben Gharbia, an avowed “info-activ- strategies. So the state by nature is a in both private and public sectors don’t ist,” spent thirteen years in exile before body that wants to control everything. have an interest in being a watchdog for returning to Tunisia in 2011 to continue his Even if it goes to censor the informati- what the government is doing.” By doing work as Director of Nawaat.org, now a reg- on or threaten journalists, the threat is so, “Nawaat tries to fill that gap by uncov- istered NGO in Tunisia. He was given the the public opinion and devolution of ering stories, ‘giving voices to the voice- Yahoo! Person of the Year award in 2010; public opinion. How far can public opi- less’” (Sami Ben Gharbia. Interview. 22 named one of Foreign Policy’s Top 100 nion tolerate the state and how much Sept. 2015). Global Thinkers in 2011; and was the recip- can the state convince public opinion Ben Gharbia measures Nawaat’s impact in ient of the Price Claus Award in 2012, for to give up liberty? The space that gu- a number of ways. His first metric is to Nawaat’s work covering anti-censorship, arantees our moves is public opinion. assess whether the content that Nawaat freedom of information, and its role in And this is the work of propaganda publishes leads to coverage in the main- mobilizing and informing activists, journal- and discourse and mainstream media stream media, as was the case with the ists, and bloggers during the Jasmine Rev- to make public opinion give up certain anti-reconciliation bill seeking to provide olution. Nawaat maintains its position as a freedoms. (Ibid.). near amnesty for former regime figures central platform for political analysis and and businesspeople complicit in embez-

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zlement and corruption during the Ben Ali “ad hoc” consultation, the FTDES provides Haythem El Mekki (MosaiqueFM, Attessia era: Nawaat with analysis to deconstruct some TV) the anti- reconciliation bill [debate] of the legal arguments that demonstrate Like Aoudi, Haythem El Mekki also self- started on Nawaat. We were the main that the bill will benefit only the economic identifies as a “witness” to the early phases media outlet to follow that from the elite so that Nawaat is in a better position of Tunisian cyberactivism, but it was not beginning until the end…. And when to counter the bill “through the legal until the Gafsa mining protests in 2008 the TV channels start to talk about the framework”: “We didn’t really work with (wherein the Ben Ali regime is alleged to issue they were late compared to us. So them. We stood on the same platform. We have handed out work appointments to they didn’t have any video footage of both oppose the bill and followed the sit- individuals close to the regime) that El the demonstrations and they used the ins and demonstrations.” With the excep- Mekki became more involved in the free- footage of Nawaat. (Ibid.). tion of Nawaat’s partnership with The dom of the Internet campaign. Just prior National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists, to the Jasmine Revolution, El Mekki was Ben Gharbia’s second metric is to be in a with whom Nawaat collaborates to publish among a coterie of individuals who met in position to reform the legal framework a monthly video on their monitoring of person to discuss the state of Internet and through videos and publications. He cred- media outlets and newspapers, Ben Ghar- information freedoms in Tunisia, which led its Nawaat with being influential during bia notes that formal partnerships are rare: to El Mekki’s role as an administrator of the the drafting of the constitution over two We did it in the past but we always find online “Sayeb Saleh” campaign. At the issues in particular. The first is Article 13, out that consumes energy, finances time he was also a well-known blogger (@ which states that natural resources are the and resources. And since our resources ByLasko), and an associate editor for Tuni- property of the , and that are very limited we don’t want to get vsions, a print and online magazine (Tuni- all contracts dealing with oil and gas into any partnerships with any organi- visions.net) “of the Tunisian people.” Aoudi should be transparent and taken up zations that will maybe deviate us from and El Mekki worked together at Tunivi- through parliament. The second is access the projects we are doing. So we come sions.net under the leadership of Nizar to the Internet as a human right in Tunisia. up with organizations to work on docu- Chaari, a former RCD member, who “That’s part of our mandate. Many debates ment s or data and then turn that data encouraged Aoudi and El Mekki to pub- in parliament were opened through into an investigation or documentary lish the dissident el-General’s song “Rais Nawaat. Many MP’s referenced Nawaat as and things go on but we don’t have Lebled” that was critical of the Ben Ali the source where they found out” (Inter- close partners. (Interview. 23 Feb.). regime. The publication of that song led view. 23 Feb.). to the censorship of Tunivisions.net and Presently, Ben Gharbia (and Nawaat) work forced El Mekki briefly into hiding. In Feb- informally with the Tunisian Forum for ruary 2011 he moved to Nessma TV. Dis- Social and Economic Rights (FTDES) over agreements over his outspoken position the anti-reconciliation plan. Through this on the direction of the revolts led El Mekki

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to take positions as a radio host at Mosai- I join the classic media and risk being movements are also an obstacle to collec- queFM, Tunisia’s first private radio station, swallowed or contained by the sys- tive mobilization: and at Attessia TV, as an analyst, satirist, tem or to stay between the rebels and We have big egos to try to understand and polemicist. El Mekki is an outspoken the dissidents? But I was thinking that each other. There were many attempts public figure popular for his incisive and things have changed again and if we to unify… there is a problem of internal scathing commentaries on the state of don’t integrate the traditional media it conflicts between activists who don’t Tunisian politics and society. will be only a few months before they want to work with each other who want Like Ben Gharbia, El Mekki maintains an go back to their old habits. (Interview. to take profit from the cause. (Interview. overtly oppositional stance to the direc- 14 Sept.). 1 Mar.). tion of the post-Ben Ali Tunisian transition. Unlike Ben Gharbia, however, who views For El Mekki, attempts at formal and coor- Conclusion: From Social Movement Entre- Nawaat as a countervailing force to a defi- dinated campaigns to confront the current preneurs to Citizens of a Nascent Demo- cient mainstream media, El Mekki works Tunisian government face a number of cratic Polity purposively through mainstream media. organizational and ideological problems. The three case studies examined above The decision was a strategic one inasmuch We do not agree with each other in take up the roles and achievements of the as it allows him to position himself along- every case. Some are sectarian and movement entrepreneurs of the freedom side what he views as an uncritical tradi- they don’t want to work with everyo- of the Internet campaign throughout and tional media apparatus: ne. I’m refusing these initiatives be- following the success of the respective Now things have changed. Now de- cause I’ll be better doing my job [alo- campaigns. By unifying against Ben Ali monstrations are covered by major ne] than being part of some coalition. I and for freedom of the Internet, a decen- TV journalist at 8 p.m., so what could think that you can’t be a journalist and tralized movement was born. Upon the we bring to people if we do the same a political militant at the same time. dissolution of the movement, many within thing? So we had to change our opera- Each has his independence. I will be its leadership individually pursued the ting ways and our vocation and our way much more effective if I help from con- aims and goals of the Jasmine Revolution. of participating in the public scene. For tinuing my work independently. (Inter- Aoudi, El Mekki, and Ben Gharbia each me for example it was clear. I was re- view. 7 Mar.). continued in large part to work for and cruited as a chronicler, so I continued within organizations and industries with covering in the field and publishing Despite prior attempts to establish such which they were involved prior to the Jas- videos but for a very short time. After coalitions, El Mekki cites a lack of disci- mine Revolution. This kind of “path depen- that I understood that that’s not what pline and structure: “With the Economic dence” has, one the one hand, enabled the country needs from me. So I star- Reconciliation, there is no civic coalition each of these entrepreneurs to achieve ted working as a journalist in the main- that is set up.” Internal conflicts between notable strides forward in their civil society stream media. I was in a dilemma: shall leaderships of various organizations and and pro-democracy work. Despite initial

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Matt Gordner attempts to mobilize with other organiza- tions, however, individual pursuits are is a Tunisia-based doctoral student in regarded by these leading figures as more the Department of Political Science at efficacious than collective action in the the University of Toronto specializing in post-Ben Ali period. and , civil society and associational life, social movements, and extremism in the Notes government’s denial of Works Cited Breuer, Anita, Tom Landman, Collins, Nicholas, and Assil Middle East and North . Gordner human rights and civil and Dorothy Farquhar. Kedissi. “’Make our Voices is a Trudeau Scholar at the Trudeau 1 It appeared for some time liberties in the name of Alvi, Kiran. “Will Tunisia’s “Social Media and Protest Heard’: Tunisian Citizens Foundation, and the Founder and as if Egypt was making “stability” following terrorist Youth Head to the Ballots?” Mobilization: Evidence from Express their Views.” National activity and legitimate and the Tunisian Revolution,” Democratic Institute. 2015. Director of the Peace by Piece Initiative, similar strides. Following the . 26 Sept.2014. democratic elections of the illegitimate forms of protest Web. 14 Aug.2015. Democratization 22.4 (2015): Web. 3 Sept. 2015. a Canadian not-for-profit organization ’s in response to unemploy- 764-92. Web. 9 Aug.2015. dedicated to dialogue on sensitive Freedom and Justice Party ment and lack of opportuni- Angrist, Michelle Penner. Derrida, Jacques. Rogues: issues of local and global scope. Earlier (FJP), however, the Egyptian ties constitute a direct threat “Understanding Mass Civic Cammett, Melani, Ishac Two Essays on Reason. Trans. to the advancement of Diwan, Alan Richards, and Pascale-Anne Brault and research for the present article was also army stepped in as a Protest in Tunisia.” Middle response to “Tamarod,” a substantive forms of East Journal 67.4 (2013): 547- John Waterbury. Political Michael Nasas. Stanford: supported by a University of Toronto mass movement calling for democratic practice. 64. Print. Economy of the Middle Stanford UP, 2005. Print. Alumni Graduate Award of Excellence the FJP to step down. East, 4th ed. Boulder, CO: and a Ranjit Kumar Fellowship. Headed by General Fatah El Ben Gharbia, Sami. “Anti- Westview Press, 2015. Print. El Mekki, Haytham. “Internet Sissi, the military used this Censhorship Movement in Activism, Tunisian Style.” email: [email protected] opportunity to enact a Tunisia: Creativity, Courage, Chomiak, Laryssa. “The From Cairo To Wall Street: military coup to ‘save the and Hope.” Web. 9 Aug., Making of a Revolution in Voices from the Global revolution.’ El Sissi won the 2015. Tunisia.” Middle East Law and Spring. Ed. Anya Schiffring Presidency in the following Governance. 3 (2001): 68-83. and Eamon Kircher-Allen. round of unfree and unfair Boukhars, Anouar. “The Web. 9 Aug. 2015. New York: New Press. 2012. elections, thus returning the Reckoning: Tunisia’s Perilous 57-65. Print. country to authoritarian rule. Path to Democratic Stability.” ---. “Architecture of Resistance In terms of the Tunisian case, Carnegie Endowment for in Tunisia.” Taking to the Gana, Nouri. The Making it is important to note that International Peace. 15 April, Streets: The Transformation of the Tunisian Revolution: despite Tunisia’s successive 2015. Web. 9 Aug.2015. of Arab Activism. Ed. Lina Contexts, Architects, rounds of free and fair Khatib and Ellen Lust. Prospects. Edinburgh: elections, the achievement of Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP. Edinburgh UP. 2013. Print. substantive democratic rights 2014. 2-51. Print. and practices is by no means ––› a foregone conclusion. Indeed, as discussed later in the article, the Tunisian

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