Overview
Country, North Africa.
Area: 63,170 sq mi (163,610 sq km). Population (2005 est.):
10,038,000. Capital: Tunis. The population is of Arab and Berber
(Amazigh) ancestry. Languages: Arabic (official), French. Religion:
Islam (official; predominantly Sunni). Currency: Tunisian dinar. Tunisia
comprises a coastal region, mountains, an extensive hilly steppe, a
marshy area with shallow salt lakes, and a tract of the Sahara. The
Majardah is its longest (about 290 mi [460 km]) and only perennial
river. Tunisia contains some of the largest phosphate and natural gas
reserves in Africa, as well as substantial oil reserves. Major economic
activities are services, agriculture, light industries, and the
production and export of petroleum and phosphates. Tourism, focusing on
Tunisia’s beaches and Roman ruins, is also important. Tunisia is a
republic with one legislative house; its chief of state is the
president, and the head of government is the prime minister. From the
12th century bc the Phoenicians had a series of trading posts on the
North African coast. By the 6th century bc the Carthaginian kingdom
encompassed most of present-day Tunisia. The Romans ruled from 146 bc.
It was part of the Byzantine Empire until the Muslim Arab invasions in
the mid-7th century ad. The area was fought over, won, and lost by many,
including the ʿAbbāsid dynasty, the Almohad dynasty, Spain, and the
Ottoman Empire, which conquered it in 1574 and held it until the late
19th century. For a time it maintained autonomy as the French, British,
and Italians contended for the region. In 1881 it became a French
protectorate. During World War II (1939–45) U.S. and British forces
captured it (1943), putting an end to a brief German occupation. France
granted it full independence in 1956; Habib Bourguiba assumed power and
remained in power until he was forced from office in 1987. His
successor, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, continued his authoritarian-style
rule.
Profile
Official name Al-Jumhūrīyah at-Tūnisīyah (Tunisian Republic)
Form of government multiparty republic1 with two legislative houses
(Chamber of Councilors [1262]; Chamber of Deputies [189])
Chief of state President
Head of government Prime Minister
Capital Tunis
Official language Arabic
Official religion Islam
Monetary unit dinar (TND)
Population estimate (2008) 10,325,000
Total area (sq mi) 63,170
Total area (sq km) 163,610
1A single party dominates the political system in practice.
2Statutory number; 41 seats are nonelective.
Main
country of North Africa. Tunisia’s accessible Mediterranean Sea
coastline and strategic location have attracted conquerors and visitors
throughout the ages, and its ready access to the Sahara has brought its
people into contact with the inhabitants of the African interior.
According to Greek legend, Dido, a princess of Tyre, was the first
outsider to settle among the native tribes of what is now Tunisia when
she founded the city of Carthage in the 9th century bc. Although the
story is certainly apocryphal, Carthage nonetheless grew into one of the
great cities and preeminent powers of antiquity, and its colonies and
entrepôts were scattered throughout the western Mediterranean region.
Carthage fought a series of wars with its rival, Rome. Rome prevailed in
the mid-2nd century bc, razed Carthage, and ruled the region for the
following 500 years. In the 7th century Arab conquerors converted the
native Berber (Amazigh) population of North Africa to Islam.
Tunisia’s culture is highly diverse, in part because of long periods
of Ottoman and then French rule but also because populations of Jews and
Christians have lived among a Muslim majority for centuries. Similarly,
the capital, Tunis, blends ancient Arab souks and mosques and
modern-style office buildings into one of the most handsome and lively
cities in the region. Other cities include Sfax (Ṣafāqis), Sousse
(Sūsah), and Gabès (Qābis) on the fertile coast and Kairouan
(Al-Qayrawān) and El-Kef (Al-Kāf) in the arid interior.
Tunisia’s people are renowned for their conviviality and easygoing
approach to daily life, qualities that Albert Memmi captured in his 1955
autobiographical novel Pillar of Salt:
…we shared the ground floor of a shapeless old building, a sort of
two-room apartment. The kitchen, half of it roofed over and the rest an
open courtyard, was a long vertical passage toward the light. But before
reaching this square of pure blue sky, it received, from a multitude of
windows, all the smoke, the smells, and the gossip of our neighbours. At
night, each locked himself in his room, but in the morning, life was
always communal….
This warmth, joined with the country’s renowned hospitality and
cuisine, has contributed greatly to Tunisia’s growing popularity as a
destination for tourists from throughout Europe and the Americas.
Land
Tunisia is bounded by Algeria to the west and southwest, by Libya
to the southeast, and by the Mediterranean Sea to the east and north.
Relief
Tunisia is characterized by moderate relief. The Tunisian Dorsale,
or High Tell, a southwest-northeast–trending mountain range that is an
extension of the Saharan Atlas (Atlas Saharien) of Algeria, tapers off
in the direction of the Sharīk (Cape Bon) Peninsula in the northeast,
south of the Gulf of Tunis. The highest mountain, Mount Chambi
(Al-Shaʿnabī), located near the centre of the Algerian border, rises to
5,066 feet (1,544 metres), while Mount Zaghwān (Zaghouan), about 30
miles (50 km) southwest of Tunis, reaches 4,249 feet (1,295 metres).
Between the limestone peaks of the central Tunisian Dorsale and the
mountains of the Northern Tell—which include the sandstone ridges of the
Kroumirie Mountains in the northwest that reach elevations of 3,000 feet
(900 metres)—and the Mogods, a mountain range running along the deeply
indented coastline to the north, lies the Majardah (Medjerda) River
valley, formed by a series of ancient lake basins covered with alluvium.
This valley was once the granary of ancient Rome and has remained to
this day the richest grain-producing region of Tunisia.
To the south of the Tunisian Dorsale lies a hilly region known as the
Haute Steppe (High Steppes) in the west and the Basse Steppe (Low
Steppes) in the east. These have elevations ranging from about 600 to
1,500 feet (180 to 460 metres) and are crossed by secondary ranges
trending north-south. Farther south there is a series of chott (or
shaṭṭ; salty lake) depressions. Large plains border the eastern coasts;
south of Sousse lies Al-Sāḥil (Sahel) and south of Gabès is Al-Jifārah
(Gefara) Plain. The extreme south is largely sandy desert, much of it
part of the Great Eastern Erg of the Sahara.
Drainage
The major drainage feature of the north is the Majardah River, the
country’s only perennially flowing stream, which cuts the Majardah
valley before emptying into the Gulf of Tunis, near the site of ancient
Carthage. Farther south, streams are intermittent and largely localized
in the form of wadis, which are subject to seasonal flooding and
terminate inland in chotts. In the country’s most southerly regions,
within the Sahara, even these seasonal streams are rare. As in other
countries of this arid region, access to water is a major concern.
During the 1990s the government sponsored the construction of a number
of dams to control flooding, preserve runoff, and recharge the water
table.
Soils
Tunisia’s most fertile soils are found in the well-watered
intermontane valleys in the north, where rich sandy clay soils formed
from alluvium or soils high in lime content cover the valley bottoms and
plains. Aside from these and from the plains of the Haute Steppe region,
where some clay soils of medium fertility may be found, soils in the
rest of the country tend to be rocky or sandy. In the dry south,
moreover, they are often also saline because of excessive evaporation.
The humid coastal plain in the east, running between the Gulf of
Hammamet and the Gulf of Gabes, where Tunisia’s thriving olive
plantations are found, is the most agriculturally productive of these
coarse-textured soil areas.
Climate
Tunisia is situated in the warm temperate zone between latitudes 37°
and 30° N. In the north the climate is Mediterranean, characterized by
mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers with no marked intervening
seasons. This changes southward to semiarid conditions on the steppes
and to desert in the far south. Saharan influences give rise to the
sirocco, a seasonal hot, blasting wind from the south that can have a
serious drying effect on vegetation.
Temperatures are moderated by the sea, being less extreme at Sousse
on the coast, for example, than at Kairouan (Al-Qayrawān) inland.
Temperatures at Sousse average 44 °F (7 °C) in January and 89 °F (32 °C)
in August. Comparable temperatures at Kairouan are 40 °F (4 °C) in
January and 99 °F (37 °C) in August.
The amount of precipitation, all falling as rain, varies considerably
from north to south. A mean annual rainfall of about 60 inches (1,520
mm) occurs in the Kroumirie Mountains in northwestern Tunisia, making it
the wettest region in North Africa, as compared with less than 4 inches
(100 mm) at Tozeur (Tawzar) in the southwest. Generally, from mid-autumn
to mid-spring, when three-fourths of the annual total occurs, northern
Tunisia receives more than 16 inches of rainfall, and the steppe region
receives from 4 to 16 inches (100 to 400 mm). Amounts are also highly
irregular from one year to another, and irregularity increases southward
toward the desert. Harvests vary as a result, being poor in dry years.
Plant and animal life
The vegetation and animal life of the country are affected by these
erratic climatic conditions. From north to south, the cork oak forest of
the Kroumirie Mountains, with its fern undergrowth sheltering wild
boars, gives way to scrub and steppes covered with esparto grass and
populated with small game and to the desert, where hunting is forbidden
so as to preserve the remaining gazelles. Scorpions are found in all
regions; among dangerous snakes are the horned viper and the cobra.
Desert locusts sometimes damage crops in the southern part of the
country. Ichkeul National Park, in the northernmost part of the country,
was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1980. It is important as a
winter sanctuary for such birds as the greylag goose, coot, and wigeon.
People
Ethnic groups
The population of Tunisia is essentially Arab Berber. However,
throughout the centuries Tunisia has received various waves of
immigration that have included Phoenicians, sub-Saharan Africans, Jews,
Romans, Vandals, and Arabs; Muslim refugees from Sicily settled in
Al-Sāḥil after their homeland was captured by the Normans in 1091. The
most notable immigration was that of the Spanish Moors (Muslims), which
began after the fall of Sevilla (Seville), Spain, as a result of the
Reconquista in 1248 and which turned into a veritable exodus in the
early 17th century. As a result, some 200,000 Spanish Muslims settled in
the area of Tunis, in the Majardah valley, and on the Sharīk Peninsula
in the north, bringing with them their urban culture and more advanced
agricultural and irrigation techniques. Finally, from the 16th to the
19th century, the Ottomans brought their own blend of Asian and European
traditions. This great ethnic diversity is still seen in the variety of
Tunisian family names.
Languages
Arabic is the official language, and most natives speak a dialect of
Tunisian Arabic. Modern Standard Arabic is taught in schools. The
cultural Arabization of the country was largely completed by the end of
the 12th century, and currently only a tiny fraction of the
population—most of them in the south—still speak one of the Berber
languages. French, introduced during the protectorate (1881–1956), came
into wider use only after independence, because of the spread of
education. It continues to play an important role in the press,
education, and government. To a lesser extent, English and Italian also
serve as lingua francas.
Religion
Virtually the entire population is Muslim, and Islam, in its Mālikī
Sunni form, is the state religion. Christian and Jewish minorities have
declined substantially in number since independence; non-Muslims
numbered more than 300,000 in 1956 but have since been reduced to only
about 50,000. Official openness to religious diversity permits both
communities to practice their faiths.
Settlement patterns
Tunisia is divided into four natural and demographic regions: the
north, which is relatively fertile and well watered; the semiarid
central region; Al-Sāḥil in the east-central coastal region, which is
preeminently olive-growing country; and the desert south, where, except
in the oases, all vegetation disappears. In the central and southern
regions, there are still people who have preserved a certain cohesion
through following a seminomadic way of life. In the north and east, on
the other hand, particularly along the coasts, the population is quite
mixed and more dense, the life of the cultivator is more complex, the
villages are more crowded, and the cities are larger. City populations
have expanded at the expense of the countryside and by the late 20th
century had incorporated more than three-fifths of the country’s people;
nearly one-tenth of Tunisia’s population lives in Tunis alone. Growth
has also been significant in the cities of Bizerte, Gabès, Sfax, and
Sousse.
Demographic trends
The population of Tunisia doubled during the last three decades of
the 20th century. The country’s natural growth rate is less rapid,
however, than those of the other North African countries, a feat
accomplished through family planning to lower the birth rate—Tunisia has
one of the lowest birth rates on the African continent—and by raising
the social, economic, and legal status of women. Emigration has also
helped depress the overall growth rate, with hundreds of thousands of
Tunisians being employed abroad, notably in France and in the countries
of the Middle East. Tunisia’s relatively favourable demographic
situation is reflected in its high life expectancy (among the highest in
Africa), higher living standards, declining infant mortality rate,
marriage at older age, and progressive aging of the population. Average
life expectancy is about 75 years.
Economy
Tunisia has a well-diversified economy, although it remains
dominated by only a few large sectors. The economy depends heavily on
mineral exports, especially petroleum and phosphates, a growing
manufacturing sector that has received much investment, and agricultural
products. Tourism is also a significant source of revenue and foreign
exchange, as are remittances from migrant workers living abroad. While
foreign debt has been brought under control, the country continues to
suffer from a regional imbalance between the north and Al-Sāḥil region,
which are more fertile and more economically developed, and the arid
central and southern regions, which have fewer natural advantages.
After a brief experiment with socialism in the 1960s, Tunisia shifted
its economic doctrine toward a mixed planned and market economy.
However, the economy fell into crisis in the early 1980s, the result of
an overreliance on oil revenues, foreign aid, and labour remittances. In
the mid-1980s a comprehensive program was introduced to liberalize the
economy, which helped restore Tunisia’s international credit standing,
stabilize public finances, reduce budget deficits and inflation, improve
trade balances, and increase foreign and domestic investments.
Public-sector reforms, deregulation, and privatization have also been
implemented. The program has not been without its social costs, however,
as unemployment and poverty levels rose. Nonetheless, the country’s per
capita gross national product has continued to grow steadily.
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
Some two-thirds of Tunisia is suitable for farming, and more than
one-fifth of the working population is employed in agriculture, yet
agricultural production is still insufficient to meet the needs of
Tunisia’s growing population and contributes only about one-eighth of
gross domestic product (GDP). Cereals, in particular, must be imported,
as must meat and dairy products; sheep, goats, and cattle are raised but
not in numbers sufficient to supply domestic demand. The low crop yields
are in part caused by the division of the property into small,
inefficient plots and also by the predominance of outdated farming
methods. Climatic variations—periodic droughts and sporadic
rainfall—often jeopardize harvests. Much of the country’s most recent
agricultural investment since the late 20th century has focused on
irrigation schemes, well and dam construction, and programs to prevent
soil erosion and desertification. Reforms have also freed up
agricultural prices by removing artificial price supports. Tunisia
nonetheless exports a fair amount of agricultural produce. The principal
commodities are citrus fruits, olive oil, grapes, tomatoes, melons,
figs, and dates.
The lumber sector is essentially confined to exploiting oak and cork
from the Kroumirie Mountains of the north, while the esparto grass of
the plains is used to manufacture quality paper. The expanding fishing
industry, centred on the eastern port city of Sfax, also contributes to
the country’s exports. Primary catches include sardines, mackerels, and
cuttlefish.
Resources and power
Tunisia’s natural resources are relatively meagre. Until the
discovery of petroleum, the principal mineral resource was phosphate; of
this, one-third is exported, and the remainder is used by domestic
chemical industries. Fertilizer is also an important export. Other major
mineral resources are zinc, lead, barite, and iron.
Petroleum was discovered in the extreme south in 1964 at Al-Burmah
(El-Borma) field. Although Tunisia’s deposits are much smaller than
those of its larger neighbours, they are significant to the economy. As
production fell in the 1980s, the government began developing several of
the country’s smaller oil fields. Nearly a dozen deposits were being
exploited by the early 1990s, the largest fields being Al-Burmah and
Al-Dūlāb in southern Tunisia near the Algerian border, Sīdī al-Yatāʾim
(Sidi el-Itayem) north of Sfax, the Ashtart field in the Gulf of Gabes,
and the Tazarka (Tāzirkah) field in the Gulf of Hammamet.
In the early 1990s Tunisia’s petroleum reserves were estimated to be
sufficient to maintain the country’s low rate of extraction for several
decades but insufficient to prevent Tunisia—because of increased
domestic consumption and inadequate refinement facilities—from becoming
a net importer of petroleum products. Since then, natural gas production
has been significantly increased, and foreign investment has been
encouraged in the sector. Major British investments in Al-Miskar field
in the mid-1990s contributed to Tunisia’s achieving self-sufficiency in
natural gas production. Like petroleum and despite new discoveries, the
quantities of natural gas are small as compared with Libyan and Algerian
production. In addition, Tunisia receives royalties on the gas that is
pumped through a pipeline running through Tunisia, connecting the
Algerian gas fields to Sicily.
Most electricity is generated by thermal means, including newer
plants fired by natural gas and fuel oil. Some solar power is also being
utilized.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing contributes roughly one-sixth of GDP and employs an
equal proportion of the population. The development of manufacturing in
Tunisia has historically encountered two major difficulties: raw
material and power supplies are inadequate, and the domestic market is
limited. Since independence was achieved in 1956, some notable and
sometimes costly projects, such as the Menzel Bourguiba (Manzil Bū
Ruqaybah) iron-smelting complex located near Bizerte, have been
successfully established. In general, however, the manufacturing base
has remained relatively small and overly concentrated on making clothes,
textiles, leather goods, and food products. Tunisia’s industry became
increasingly export-oriented during the 1970s, but it remained
uncompetitive and overprotected and did not generate sufficient income.
It also continued to be largely concentrated in wealthier coastal areas,
despite government incentives to relocate to the country’s western and
southern parts.
As a result of reforms, Tunisian manufacturing has become much more
diversified, with new investments in the production and export of
mechanical and electromechanical equipment, petroleum products, and
chemicals. The textile sector still remains disproportionately large,
however, and more than one-third of all manufacturing operations are
located in Tunis alone. On the other hand, investment codes introduced
in the late 1980s have attracted strong foreign interest, which has
enhanced technology transfer, modernized the service and financial
sectors, and aided export development.
Privatization has been a slower process. After an initial flurry of
sales in the early 1990s, the pace slackened, and privatization seemed
restricted to small, profitable enterprises such as textile factories.
There have been renewed efforts to expand the private sector by
transferring ownership of large, strategic companies, and activity has
increased, particularly involving foreign interests.
Finance
The Banque Central de Tunisie is the country’s central bank and
issues the dinar, the national currency. The government also partly
operates several development banks, the largest of which is the Société
Tunisienne de Banque, and there are numerous commercial banks. The dinar
has been made partially convertible against the European Union (EU) euro
and several other currencies. The Tunisian stock exchange, Bourse de
Tunis, was founded in 1969 and has become a central pillar of economic
policy, as it has facilitated privatization and encouraged both domestic
savings and foreign investment.
Trade
Trade accounts for some one-fourth of GDP, and Tunisia relies
heavily on its trade with Europe, with the EU accounting for the bulk of
both exports and imports. France is the most important trading partner,
followed by Italy and Germany. Tunisia often shows an annual trade
deficit. In the late 1990s the country signed an agreement with the EU,
under the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership Program, that
set in motion the creation of a free-trade area between Tunisia and the
EU. Tunisia has been a member of the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade since 1990; it also is a participant in the World Trade
Organization and is a signatory of the Arab League’s Arab Free Trade
Area. In addition, Tunisia is a member of the Arab Maghrib Union, which
aims at economic integration among its member states.
Tunisia’s most significant exports are textiles and leather products,
electrical machinery, and crude and refined petroleum. Its major imports
are consumer products, raw materials, machinery and electrical
equipment, and food products.
Services
Services, including retail trade, public administration, defense,
and tourism, account for a significant portion of GDP—although Tunisia’s
military spending, as a percentage of gross national product, is well
below the world average—and for more than one-fourth of employment.
Tourism has become one of Tunisia’s leading sources of foreign exchange
and has spawned a vibrant and growing handicraft industry in its wake.
Although tourism was adversely affected by regional instabilities at the
beginning of the 21st century, the number of tourists—especially from
other Arab countries—has again been rising.
Labour and taxation
Unemployment in Tunisia has often been high, despite concerted
efforts by the government to reduce the rate. Workers are allowed by law
to organize, and there are a number of unions. The three large
professional organizations are: the General Union of Tunisian Workers,
the principal trade union; the Tunisian Union of Industry, Commerce and
Handicrafts, the main employers’ organization; and the National Union of
Tunisian Farmers, the principal agricultural union. These are the main
participants in national wage negotiations, although numerous other
organizations also represent the country’s economic interests.
Most government revenues are acquired through taxation, and Tunisia
levies both direct and indirect taxes. Direct taxes take the form of an
income tax assessed at a marginal rate and a flat-rate corporate tax.
Indirect taxes include a variable-rate value-added tax (certain luxury
items, for instance, are taxed at a higher rate) and professional
training, social security, and registration taxes.
Transportation and telecommunications
The network of roads and railways is sufficiently dense so that all
cities of any importance are linked with the interior. Nearly
four-fifths of roads are paved. Tunisia is connected by both road and
rail to Algeria but only by road to Libya, since the railway ends at
Gabès. Work is under way to modernize and extend the railway network.
The principal port is Tunis–La Goulette (Ḥalq al-Wādī); other major
ports include Sfax, Bizerte, Sousse, and, in the south, Gabès. An oil
pipeline runs from Edjeleh, Algeria, to the port of La Skhira
(Al-Ṣukhayrah) on the Gulf of Gabes.
Despite the construction of an airport at Gafsa, regional airports at
Monastir (Al-Munastīr), Jerba (Jarbah), Sfax, and Tozeur handle domestic
or charter flights, and international air traffic is directed mainly
through Tunis-Carthage International Airport.
Tunisia’s telecommunication services are controlled by Tunisie
Télécom (founded in 1996), a state-owned entity that is responsible for
maintaining and developing the country’s communications infrastructure.
Tunisia signed the World Trade Organization Basic Telecommunications
Services Agreement of 1997, which opened the country’s market, and its
telecommunications infrastructure has expanded markedly since that time.
Internet access is growing rapidly, and cellular telephones far
outnumber standard phone lines. Local communications are largely
conducted over microwave radio links, while international transmission
makes use of satellite networks and fibre-optic cables.
Government and society
Constitutional framework
The Tunisian constitution, promulgated in 1959 and subsequently
amended, defines Tunisia as a republic whose religion is Islam and whose
official language is Arabic. In 2005 a bicameral legislature (the
National Assembly) was established, with an elected Chamber of Deputies
as its lower house and, as its upper house, a new Chamber of
Councillors, whose members are elected or appointed. In 1997 an
amendment was ratified stating that no single party would be allowed to
hold more than four-fifths of the total number of seats. Executive power
is in the hands of the president of the republic, who is head of state,
and the prime minister, who is head of government. The president, who
must be a Muslim, is elected to a five-year term by universal suffrage
at the same time as the deputies; in 2002 the three-term limit on the
presidency was removed. Reforms have enabled candidates to challenge the
presidency in elections since the late 1990s.
The country is administered by the Council of Ministers (or cabinet),
headed by the prime minister. The cabinet ministers are responsible to
the president rather than to the Chamber of Deputies, which, however,
possesses the power to censure the cabinet. If such censuring occurs,
the president may dismiss the Chamber of Deputies and hold new
elections. If censured again by the new Chamber, the government must
resign.
A prominent feature of social policy has been the effort to improve
the status and lives of women. Compared to their counterparts in other
Arab countries, women in Tunisia have enjoyed greater equality before
the law. The progressive Code of Personal Status, which was introduced
in 1956, has been amended to affirm and enhance women’s political,
social, and economic roles. The National Union of Tunisian Women,
established in the same year, remains an important organization
promoting women’s advancement.
Local government
The country is divided into 24 administrative areas called wilāyāt
(provinces; singular wilāyah), each of which is headed by a wālī
(governor). Each province is designated by the name of its chief town
and is in turn subdivided into numerous units called muʿtamadiyyāt
(delegations), whose number varies according to province size.
Delegations are administered by a muʿtamad and are in turn divided into
more than 2,000 districts called minṭaqah turābiyyahs. Tunisia is
further divided into scores of municipalities and rural councils.
Justice
Tunisia’s legal system is based on a combination of French civil law
and a liberal interpretation of Islamic law (Sharīʿah). The Council of
State comprises two judicial bodies: an administrative body that deals
with legal disputes between individuals and state or public institutions
and a public audit office. The court system consists of magistrate
courts at the local level, courts of the first instance, courts of
appeal, and a high court in Tunis. Judicial power is exercised by judges
whose independence is constitutionally guaranteed.
Political process
The constitution guarantees “freedom of opinion, expression, press,
publication, assembly, and association” (“under the conditions defined
by law”). Political parties based on ethnicity, religion, region, or
language are forbidden by law. New political parties were introduced in
1981; permission for a multiparty system was granted in 1988; and the
first multiparty elections were held in 1989. Reported turnout for
elections typically is high, with nearly all of the registered voters
participating, and incumbent candidates frequently are reelected by
exceptionally high margins. The dominant party is the Democratic
Constitutional Rally (known by its French acronym RCD).
Because of the ban on parties based on religion, ethnicity, region,
or language, the major opposition group, the Islamist party Al-Nahḍah
(“The Renaissance”), has not been granted legal status, and many of its
members have been detained, jailed, or exiled. The legal opposition
parties are small and often focus around an individual or a small group
of personalities; they have neither the financial nor the organizational
structure to mobilize serious opposition in elections. By 2005,
opposition parties had been unable to win a contested seat in the
National Assembly. In addition to political parties, there is a large
number of politically active national organizations, most of which are
affiliated with the RCD.
Security
Tunisia maintains a relatively small active-duty military,
consisting mostly of conscripts whose term of service is one year. The
army is the largest branch (with the highest number of conscripts), but
the country also has a small navy and air force. The former consists
mainly of small patrol vessels. The air force has relatively few
high-performance aircraft. A national police force—whose jurisdiction is
largely restricted to the cities—and a largely rural national guard
report to the Ministry of the Interior and are responsible for national
security.
Health and welfare
The living standards of the population in general are modest but
rising. According to the government, only a small fraction of the
population lives below the poverty line. Although austere budgets and
the general removal of subsidies have reduced social welfare provisions
overall, a number of programs have been initiated to ensure the
protection of the poor and socially vulnerable. The best known of these
is the National Solidarity Fund, established in 1992, which channels
private, public, and institutional donations to development projects
around the country. Additional funds support numerous other social
welfare programs. The country’s national health system provides nearly
all of its population with access to medical care. Despite rising public
expenditure on health, many Tunisians have been turning to private
health care as demand outstrips supply. A good network of hospitals and
clinics has contributed to a relatively low death rate and, in
particular, to one of the lowest infant mortality rates on the African
continent.
Housing
Traditional urban housing in Tunisia—found in the old city centres,
or medinas—consisted of tightly arranged structures grouped within town
walls and interlaced by a network of narrow walkways and passages.
Building exteriors generally were whitewashed, with little decoration,
while interiors were ornate and comfortable. Each neighbourhood (Arabic:
ḥārah) was restricted to a particular ethnic or religious group, and it
was only with the beginning of the protectorate that these city centres
began to give way to European-style city plans. Following independence,
the government began to encourage the restoration of the medinas, and
architects have more recently sought to mitigate Western influence in
favour of traditional architectural patterns.
The government has promoted housing growth in both urban and rural
areas, thereby attempting to stem the flow of migrants to the country’s
cities. This project has been fairly successful, facilitated by the
establishment of essential services in the countryside, including
irrigation projects designed to provide rural employment. According to
the Tunisian government, most families own their own homes.
Unique to the region are the underground dwellings found in the rural
southeastern part of the country. These structures were designed for
habitation in a harsh, arid environment and generally consist of a
sunken central courtyard surrounded by individual family dwellings,
storage areas, and workrooms, all of which are built into the earth.
(Scenes from the motion picture Star Wars were filmed at such a dwelling
located in the village of Matmata [Maṭmāṭah].)
Education
Education is free to all school-age children, and schooling is
compulsory between the ages of 6 and 16. Virtually all of the country’s
children are enrolled in primary education, and nearly one-sixth of its
young people go on to attend one of the country’s universities or
institutes of higher learning. More than three-fourths of the population
is literate; the rate among men is somewhat higher than that among
women, but the gap is narrowing.
Growth in the number of schools, students, and teachers has created a
serious financial strain, as education has constituted one of the
largest shares of the annual national budget. Students have had no
alternative other than turning to private funding to supplement state
education allowances, and they increasingly have been denied the choice
of subject area or school. Given the difficulties of finding enough job
opportunities for qualified people, more emphasis has been placed on
technical, vocational, teacher, and agricultural training. The
University of Tunis (founded 1960) is the country’s major institution of
higher education. Several more universities have opened since the 1980s,
and there are also religious schools.
Cultural life
Tunisians are an independent-minded people who take pride in the
rich admixture of native and foreign influences that make up their
national character. Their Arab-Muslim country was deeply imbued with
French culture during the 75 years of the protectorate, which ended in
1956.
Daily life and social customs
In general, though Tunisians consider themselves to be more liberal
and tolerant than their neighbours—most urban women, for example, dress
in Western clothes and do not veil themselves, and (though it is
considered inappropriate by some Tunisian Muslims) locally made wines
and spirits are consumed—they still maintain a strong Islamic identity.
Thus, Tunisians absorb new cultural influences from abroad while
insisting on upholding their own values, but they are also vigilant
about the impact of Western influence on their way of life. Those
concerns led to a revival of some forms of social and religious
conservatism in the 1990s, notably affecting women in the public sphere.
Street cafés have increasingly become the preserve of men, especially in
rural areas where relations between the sexes are still governed by
conservative social norms.
Even Westernized Tunisians adhere to certain traditional values;
foremost among these is the role of the family as the centre of social
life. Meals are an important time for families to gather. Tunisian
cuisine consists of a medley of European cuisine—largely French and
Italian—and traditional dishes. As in the rest of the Maghrib, couscous,
a semolina-based pasta, is a staple of virtually every meal and is
customarily served with a rich stew. Other native basics are lamb,
peppers, onions, chickpeas (often served in cakes as a dessert), and
olive oil. Various types of seafood can be found near the coast. Unlike
other cuisines of the Maghrib, Tunisian food is replete with hot spices,
and harissa, a fiery red sauce, is served with most dishes.
Tunisians observe the standard Islamic holidays as well as several
secular and national holidays, such as Independence Day (March 20) and
Women’s Day (August 13).
The arts
Dotted with the ruins of ancient civilizations, Tunisia is an
important location for the study of world archaeology and architecture.
Among the most significant of its numerous historic sites are
Al-Zaytūnah Mosque in Tunis, which dates to the 8th century ad, the
slightly older Great Mosque of ʿUqbah ibn Nāfiʿ in Kairouan, and the
remains of the ancient city of Carthage.
Although Tunisians generally use French or English in the scientific
disciplines, they remain genuinely attached to Arabic in the literary
sphere—in poetry, the novel, and the short story. Historical figures of
philosophy and literature, such as the 11th-century litterateurs Ibrāhīm
al-Ḥuṣrī, Ḥasan ibn Rashīq, and Muḥammad ibn Sharaf al-Qayrawānī and the
14th-century polymath Ibn Khaldūn, are still revered. Modern Tunisian
literature grew from a cultural renaissance in the early 20th century.
Social essayist Tahar Haddad, satirist Ali Douagi, poet Aboul Kacem
Chabbi, and others have paved the way for a new realist trend in
Tunisian literature by combining modern European styles with
contemporary Tunisian themes. Increasingly, Tunisian writers, including
women, are gaining international prominence.
Tunisian cinema has been gradually making its way to an international
audience—among the luminaries of the Tunisian cinema are the directors
Moufida Tlatli (Ṣamt al-Quṣūr [1994; The Silence of the Palaces]) and
Férid Boughedir (Un été à La Goulette [1995; A Summer in La
Goulette])—and Tunisia has been the location for major motion picture
productions, including Star Wars (1977) and The English Patient (1996).
Cultural institutions
Contemporary Tunisian painting can also lay claim to a certain
tradition, with the École de Tunis being foremost among artistic
institutions. Tunisian artists such as Hamadi Ben Saad and Hassen Soufy
enjoy a genuine local celebrity and have also exhibited abroad. Music-
and theatre-based cultural festivals—notably the Carthage International
Festival, the Testour Maalouf Festival of traditional Andalusian malouf
(maʾlūf) music, the Sousse International Cultural Festival, and the
International Jazz Festival of Tabarka—have become a feature of Tunisian
life. Since Tunisians have generally been concerned about the influence
of tourism on their social and cultural lives, the country’s premier
music conservatory, the Rashīdiyya Institute (1934), devotes attention
mainly to national traditions while emphasizing classical European
heritage. Tunisians are especially proud of El-Azifet, an exclusively
female ensemble inspired by traditional malouf and mouachah (muwashshaḥ)
music and traditional musicians such as Anouar Brahem.
The National Archives (1874) and the National Library (1885), both
located in Tunis, contain large collections of documents, including
books and manuscripts, the latter in Arabic and Ottoman Turkish. There
are also a number of museums located throughout the country, the most
notable of which is probably the Bardo National Museum (1888). This
institution, located in the former palace of the Ottoman bey in the
medina, or old quarter, of Tunis, houses collections of fine works
dating from the Carthaginian, Roman, and Islamic periods. Among its
holdings is the largest—and possibly the finest—collection of Roman
mosaics in the world. The Carthage Museum (1964), a repository of
numerous antiquities from the ancient and medieval periods, is located
near the site of the ancient city and in close proximity to several
important excavations. Several of these culturally significant locations
in Tunisia have been designated UNESCO World Heritage sites, including
Carthage and the medina of Tunis in 1979 and the historic city of
Kairouan and the medina of Sousse in 1988.
Sports and recreation
Football (soccer) is the most popular modern sport. Tunisia has
fielded teams for the African Cup of Nations and World Cup competitions.
Football is also a family sport and has been important in creating a
demand for satellite television. Athletics has also become popular in
the country, and Tunisian runners have achieved international renown at
middle- and long-distance events. Tourism has provided resources for the
development of other sports, including golf, hiking, and windsurfing.
Scuba diving has benefited from a vigorous conservation program designed
to protect the undersea flora and fauna. Tunisian women have not been
excluded from participating in sports—as women often have in other Arab
countries—and they have been encouraged to begin competing at an early
age. The traditional sport of wild boar hunting is practiced mostly in
the dunes, hills, and mountains of the Tabarka region.
Media and publishing
While there is no official censorship of the media, self-censorship
has become a feature of daily life, as various types of government
coercion have restricted the ability of journalists and political
personalities to speak freely. Nonetheless, the high rate of literacy
and the sizable middle class have helped to sustain an avid readership
for the large number of periodicals (notably business and economics)
that are published, and the number of citizens with access to satellite
television and the Internet has grown considerably since the late 1990s.
The state-run company Etablissement de la Radiodiffusion Télévision
Tunisienne (ERTT) is the sole domestic provider of broadcast material,
both television and radio. The majority of the country’s daily
newspapers are in French, and French-language television and radio
programs are broadcast daily along with those in Arabic and Italian.
Mohamed Talbi
John Innes Clarke
Emma Murphy
History
The following discussion offers a brief summary of Tunisia’s
early history but mainly focuses on Tunisia since about 1800. For a more
detailed treatment of earlier periods and of the country in its regional
context, see North Africa.
Tunisia was called Ifrīqiyyah in the early centuries of the Islamic
period. That name, in turn, comes from the Roman word for Africa and the
name also given by the Romans to their first African colony following
the Punic Wars against the Carthaginians in 264–146 bc. Following the
decline of Rome, the region was ruled briefly by the Vandals and then
the Byzantine Empire before being conquered by the Arabs in ad 647.
Although the Arabs initially unified North Africa, by 1230 a separate
Tunisian dynasty had been established by the Ḥafṣids. Muslim Andalusians
migrated to the area after having been forced out of Spain during the
Reconquista, particularly following the defeat of the Muslim kingdom of
Granada in 1492. By 1574, Tunisia was incorporated into the Ottoman
Empire, whose control of the region, always tenuous, had all but
dissolved by the 19th century.
Tunisia is the smallest of the Maghrib states and consequently the
most cohesive. By the beginning of the 19th century, virtually all of
its inhabitants spoke Arabic. Berber, the earlier language of the
Maghrib, survived in Tunisia in only a few pockets, mainly in the
extreme south. The vast majority of the population was Muslim, with a
small Jewish minority. A single major city, Tunis, dominated the
countryside both politically and culturally. Tunis itself was located
near the site of the ancient city-state of Carthage. More easily
controlled from within than any other Maghrib country, Tunisia was also
more open to the influence of people and ideas from abroad. Roman
Africa, for example, was the most intensively Christianized portion of
North Africa, and Ifrīqiyyah was later more quickly and more thoroughly
Islamicized.
A small state with limited resources, Tunisia nonetheless managed to
retain considerable autonomy within the framework of the larger empires
that frequently ruled it from afar. This status was achieved, for
example, under the ʿAbbāsids in the 9th century and later under the
Ottomans. Tunisia’s geographic and historical legacy helped prepare it
for the shocks it received in the 19th century as a land caught between
an expanding Europe and a declining Ottoman Empire. Yet, Tunisia proved
to be as vulnerable economically as it was militarily.
The growth of European influence
In 1830, at the time of the French invasion of Algiers, Tunisia
was officially a province of the Ottoman Empire but in reality was an
autonomous state. Because the principal military threat had long come
from neighbouring Algeria, the reigning bey of Tunisia, Ḥusayn,
cautiously went along with assurances from the French that they had no
intention of colonizing Tunisia. Ḥusayn Bey even accepted the idea that
Tunisian princes would rule the cities of Constantine and Oran. The
scheme, however, had no chance of success and was soon abandoned.
Tunisia’s security was directly threatened in 1835, when the Ottoman
Empire deposed the ruling dynasty in Libya and reestablished direct
Ottoman rule. Thereafter, the vulnerable beylik of Tunis found itself
surrounded by two larger powers—France and the Ottoman Empire—both of
which had designs on Tunisia. From that time until the establishment of
the French protectorate in 1881, Tunisian rulers had to placate the
larger powers while working to strengthen the state from within.
Aḥmad Bey, who ruled from 1837 to 1855, was an avowed modernizer and
reformer. With the help of Western advisers (mainly French), he created
a modern army and navy and related industries. Conscription was also
introduced, to the great dismay of the peasantry. More acceptable were
Aḥmad’s steps to integrate Arabic-speaking native Tunisians fully into
the government, which had long been dominated by mamlūks (military
slaves) and Turks. Aḥmad abolished slavery and took other modernizing
steps intended to bring Tunisia more in line with Europe, but he also
exposed his country to Europe’s infinitely greater economic and
political power. His reforms negatively affected the already stagnant
economy, which led to greater debt, higher taxes, and increased unrest
in the countryside.
The next bey, Muḥammad (1855–59), tried to ignore Europe, but this
was no longer possible. Continued civil disturbances and corruption
prompted the British and French to force the bey to issue the
Fundamental Pact (ʿAhd al-Amān; September 1857), a civil rights charter
modeled on the Ottoman rescript of 1839.
The final collapse of the Tunisian beylik came during the reign of
Muḥammad al-Ṣādiq (1859–82). Though sympathetic to the need for reforms,
Muḥammad was too weak either to control his own government or to keep
the European powers at bay. He did, in 1861, proclaim the first
constitution (dustūr; also destour) in the Arabic-speaking world, but
this step toward representative government was cut short by runaway
debt, a problem exacerbated by the government’s practice of securing
loans from European bankers at exorbitant rates.
When the principal minister, Muṣṭafā Khaznadār (who had served from
the earliest days of Aḥmad Bey’s reign), attempted to squeeze more taxes
out of the hard-pressed peasants, the countryside rose in a revolt
(1864). This uprising almost overthrew the regime, but the government
ultimately suppressed it through a combination of guile and brutality.
Though Tunisia went bankrupt in 1869 and an international financial
commission—with British, French, and Italian representatives—was imposed
on the country, there was one last attempt to reform Tunisia from within
and thus avoid complete European domination. It was made during the
reformist ministry of Khayr al-Dīn (1873–77), one of the most effective
statesmen of the 19th-century Muslim world. However, enemies from within
and European intrigues from without conspired to force him from office.
The final blow to Tunisia’s sovereignty came at the Congress of Berlin
in 1878, when Britain acquiesced to France’s control of Tunisia.
On the pretext that Tunisians had encroached on Algerian territory,
France invaded Tunisia in 1881 and imposed the Treaty of Bardo, which
sanctioned French military occupation of Tunisia, transferred to France
the bey’s authority over finance and foreign relations, and provided for
the appointment of a French resident minister as intermediary in all
matters of common interest. This provoked an uprising in southern
Tunisia during which France attacked and captured Sousse in July 1881,
took Kairouan in October, and seized Gafsa and Gabès in November. After
the death of Muḥammad al-Ṣādiq, his successor, ʿAlī, was forced to
introduce administrative, judicial, and financial reforms that the
French government considered useful. This agreement, known as the
Convention of Al-Marsa, was signed in 1883 and solidified French control
over Tunisia.
The protectorate (1881–1956)
Tunisia became a protectorate of France by treaty rather than by
outright conquest, as was the case in Algeria. Officially, the bey
remained an absolute monarch: Tunisian ministers were still appointed,
the government structure was preserved, and Tunisians continued to be
subjects of the bey. The French did not confiscate land, convert mosques
into churches, or change the official language. Nevertheless, supreme
authority was passed to the French resident general.
Under French guidance, Tunisia’s finances were soon stabilized and
modern communications established. Though France never overtly seized
land or displaced the population, both of which had occurred in Algeria,
the most fertile portions of northern Tunisia, comprising the Majardah
valley and the Sharīk Peninsula, were passed on to other European
countries. Valuable phosphate mines began operating near Gafsa in the
south, and vegetables were cultivated and exported from the Majardah
valley after French and Italian colonists had become established there.
By the 1890s a small French-educated group—the members of which came
to be called “Young Tunisians”—began pushing for both modernizing
reforms based on a European model and greater participation by Tunisians
in their own government. The group’s conduct during the protectorate,
however, was cautious and reserved. Their major weapon became the
newspaper Le Tunisien, a French-language publication founded in 1907.
With the printing of an Arabic edition in 1909, the Young Tunisians
simultaneously educated their compatriots and persuaded the more liberal
French to help move Tunisia toward modernity.
Even this moderate protonationalism was subject to repressive
measures by the French in 1911–12. Little nationalist activity took
place during World War I (1914–18), but the first attempt at mass
political organization came during the interwar period, when the Destour
(Constitution) Party was created (the party was named for the
short-lived Tunisian constitution of 1861). In 1920 the Destour Party
presented the bey and the French government with a document that
demanded that a constitutional form of government be established in
which Tunisians would possess the same rights as Europeans. The
immediate result was the arrest of ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Thaʿālibī, the
Destour leader. Two years later the aged bey, Muḥammad al-Nāṣir,
requested that the program of the Destour be adopted or he would
abdicate. In response, the resident general, Lucien Saint, surrounded
the bey’s palace with troops, and the demand was withdrawn. Saint thus
introduced restrictive measures, together with minor reforms, that
pacified Tunisian sentiment and weakened the nationalist movement for
several years.
In 1934 a young Tunisian lawyer, Habib Bourguiba, and his colleagues
broke with the Destour Party to form a new organization, the
Neo-Destour, which aimed at spreading propaganda and gaining mass
support. Under Bourguiba’s vigorous leadership, the new party soon
supplanted the existing Destour Party and its leaders. Attempts by the
French to suppress the new movement only fueled the fire. The
Neo-Destour began to gain more power and influence after the arrival of
the Popular Front government in France in 1936. When the Popular Front
government collapsed, repression was renewed in Tunisia and was met with
civil disobedience. In 1938 serious disturbances led to the arrest of
Bourguiba and other leaders of the party, which was then officially
dissolved.
World War II
At the outbreak of war in 1939, Neo-Destour leaders, though still
untried, were deported to France. However, they were released by the
Nazis in 1942 following the German occupation of Vichy France, and,
since Hitler regarded Tunisia as a sphere of Italian influence, he
handed them over to the fascist government in Rome. There the leaders
were treated with deference, the fascists hoping to gain support for the
Axis. Bourguiba steadily refused to cooperate. In March 1943 he made a
noncommittal broadcast, and the Neo-Destour leaders were finally allowed
to proceed to Tunis, where the reigning bey, Muḥammad al-Munṣif
(Moncef), formed a ministry of individuals who were sympathetic to
Destour.
The assumption of power by the Free French after the Nazi retreat
produced complete disillusionment for the Neo-Destour cause. The bey was
deposed, while Bourguiba, accused of collaboration with the Nazis,
escaped imprisonment by fleeing in disguise to Egypt in 1945. Still, a
vigorous campaign of propaganda for Tunisian independence continued,
and, in view of the emancipation of the eastern Arab states and later of
neighbouring Libya, the French felt compelled to make concessions. In
1951 the French permitted a government with nationalist sympathies to
take office—of which the secretary-general of the Neo-Destour, Salah Ben
Youssef, became a member—and Bourguiba was allowed to return to Tunisia.
When the newly formed government wished to establish a Tunisian
parliament, however, further repressions ensued; Bourguiba was exiled,
and most of the ministers were put under arrest. This resulted, for the
first time, in outbreaks of terrorism. Nationalist guerrillas began to
operate in the mountains, virtually paralyzing the country.
In July 1954 the French premier, Pierre Mendès-France, promised to
grant complete autonomy to Tunisia, subject to a negotiated agreement.
Bourguiba returned to Tunisia and was able to supervise the negotiations
without directly participating. In June 1955 an agreement was finally
signed by the Tunisian delegates—though it imposed strict limits in the
fields of foreign policy, education, defense, and finance—and a mainly
Neo-Destour ministry was formed. Salah Ben Youssef denounced the
document, saying it was too restrictive, and refused to attend a
specially summoned congress that unanimously supported Bourguiba. In
response, he organized a brief armed resistance in the south that was
quickly repressed. Ben Youssef fled the country to escape imprisonment;
he was assassinated in 1961.
Independence
The French granted full independence to Tunisia in an accord that
was reached on March 20, 1956, and Bourguiba was chosen prime minister.
The rule of the beys was subsequently abolished, and on July 25, 1957, a
republic was declared, with Bourguiba as president.
Domestic development
After independence was granted, the Neo-Destour Party (from 1964
to 1988 the Destourian Socialist Party; from 1988 the Democratic
Constitutional Rally [known by its French acronym RCD]) ensured that
Tunisia moved quickly with reforms, most notably in the areas of
education, the liberation of women, and legal reforms. Economic
development was slower, but the government paid considerable attention
to the more impoverished parts of the country. In 1961 Ahmad Ben Salah
took charge of planning and finance. His ambitious efforts at
forced-pace modernization, especially in agriculture, were foiled,
however, by rural and conservative opposition. Expelled from the party
and imprisoned in 1969, Ben Salah escaped in 1973 to live in exile. His
fall brought a move in the government toward more conservative
alignment.
In 1975 the Chamber of Deputies unanimously bestowed the presidency
for life on the sick and aging Habib Bourguiba, who centralized power
under his progressive but increasingly personalized rule. Hedi Amira
Nouira, noted for his financial and administrative skills, became prime
minister in November 1970, but his government failed to resolve the
economic crisis or address growing demands for reform from liberals in
his own party. A decade later, the ailing Nouira was replaced by
Muhammad Mzali, who made efforts to restore dissidents to the party and
by 1981 had granted amnesty to many who had been jailed for earlier
disturbances. In addition, he persuaded Bourguiba to accept a multiparty
system (although only one opposition party was actually legalized).
The outcome of the elections in November 1981 was disappointing to
those who sought political liberalization. The National Front, an
alliance of the Destourian Socialist Party and the trade union movement,
swept all 136 parliamentary seats, a result received with cynicism and
dismay by the opposition. Meanwhile, an Islamist opposition was
developing around the Islamic Tendency Movement (Mouvement de la
Tendance Islamique [MTI]). By 1984 Bourguiba had perceived an Islamist
hand behind riots and demonstrations protesting rising prices. In
response, he sent in the army and initiated a fierce campaign against
the MTI. Bourguiba’s long rule, widely popular in its early years except
among traditionalist groups, had provoked an increasing but passive
opposition among Tunisians. Bourguiba, long in declining health, became
unable to mask his autocratic tendencies. National elections in 1986
were boycotted by the major opposition parties, and the National Front
once again carried the vote. In November 1987, amid widespread unrest
and growing Islamist support, Bourguiba was declared mentally unfit to
rule and was removed from office. He was succeeded by General Zine
el-Abidine Ben Ali, whom he had appointed as prime minister a month
earlier.
President Ben Ali promised political liberalization and a transition
to democracy. His early reforms attempted to restore a national
consensus; one of these, the National Pact signed in 1989, drew together
the ruling party, the legal opposition, the Islamists, and all the
national organizations. Many political parties were legalized, with the
exception of the MTI (renamed Al-Nahḍah [“The Renaissance”] in 1988),
but the 1989 national elections still failed to introduce a multiparty
competition. The president gained 99 percent of the vote, and the RCD
won all 141 seats in the legislature. Local elections in 1990, boycotted
by opposition parties, were also swept by the ruling party. Following
early local electoral victories by Algerian Islamists in 1990 and
Islamist opposition to the First Persian Gulf War (1990–91), the
government began to crack down on Islamist political activity.
Although the government initially eased press controls and released
political prisoners, the opposition soon became disillusioned with the
new regime. Subsequently, the government turned against secular
opposition, and it has since been criticized for its abuse of human
rights and its reliance on military and security forces. Piecemeal
electoral reforms have failed to produce any genuine form of power
sharing or transfer of power away from the president’s party. Similarly,
the media and national organizations and associations have lost much of
what little autonomy they wrested from the state, and Ben Ali’s regime
has increasingly been subject to accusations of authoritarianism. The
government, for its part, has claimed that democratization must be a
gradual process that cannot be allowed to destabilize or inhibit the
processes of economic liberalization and social consolidation. The
implementation of bicameral legislature in 2005 was given as a step
toward political liberalization.
Foreign relations
Foreign relations under Habib Bourguiba were dominated by his
personal conviction that Tunisia’s future lay with the West and, in
particular, with France and the United States. There were, nonetheless,
some early crises, including a French bombing raid on the Tunisian
village of Sakiet Sidi Youssef (Sāqiyat Sīdī Yūsuf) in 1958, during
which France claimed the right to pursue Algerian rebels across the
border; the Bizerte incident of 1961, concerning the continued military
use of that port and airfield facility by France; and the suspension of
all French aid in 1964–66 after Tunisia abruptly nationalized
foreign-owned landholdings. These difficulties aside, Tunisia’s
relations with France have been improving, as have relations with the
United States, despite some tensions with the latter over its
involvement in the First Persian Gulf War and its policies toward the
developing world. Alignment with the West was never allowed to interfere
with positive trade policies with developing countries and what was then
the Soviet bloc. Rather than balance East against West, Bourguiba
maximized Tunisia’s advantages by maintaining good relations with both
and thereby reduced the country’s dependency on either one. Bourguiba’s
pragmatism also extended to the Arab world. Rejecting ideological
constraints, he argued for the Arab recognition of Israel and Arab unity
based on mutually advantageous cooperation rather than political
integration.
Under Ben Ali, Tunisia has followed much the same path. The need for
regional security and the desire to advance economic interests,
especially trade and foreign investment, has guided foreign policy. With
the uncertain future and stability of the Arab Maghrib Union, Tunisia
has increasingly concentrated efforts on developing bilateral economic
agreements with other Arab states, on promoting the Arab League’s Arab
Free Trade Area, and in advancing regional economics. An agreement with
the European Union, which came into effect in 1998, has also tied
Tunisia’s economy and security to the Mediterranean community. Attempts
to diversify trading links have led to closer ties with the East and
Southeast Asia, and strong ties with the United States remain a linchpin
in Tunisia’s ability to present itself as a stable, reliable, and
moderate state. Tunisia has been keen on supporting international
organizations, in particular the United Nations, which it has viewed as
the protector of smaller states and the defender of international law.
Nevill Barbour
L. Carl Brown
Emma Murphy
