From Dictatorship to “Democracy

Neoliberal Continuity and Its Crisis in Tunisia

Bibliographic Data

ID6093379
AuthorsMehmet Erman Erol (0000-0001-8349-3696, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume10
Issue2
Publication date2020-12-30
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNew Middle Eastern Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2051-0861 • E-ISSN: 2051-0861
PublisherUniversity of Leicester (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.29311/nmes.v10i2.3771
OpenAlexW3117237189
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited11

A decade after Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution in 2011, this article assesses Tunisia’s neoliberal political economy from a critical and historical perspective; from Ben Ali to its current political and economic impasse. It argues that despite the country being shown as the only democratic example to have emerged from the “Arab Spring”, the continuity of neoliberalism puts significant limits on its democratisation. Domestic and international ruling classes insisted on the implementation of further neoliberal reforms since the 2010s which curbed democratic processes, interventions and demands. Hence, despite limited democratic reform in the political sphere initially, it is not plausible to argue that the post-2010 era delivered the demands of the masses that led to the ousting of Ben Ali. In recent years, the country has experienced significant economic and political crises accompanied by deep societal unrest and labour resistance. Indeed, high unemployment persists, inflation and the cost of living have worsened, foreign debt has soared, wages have remained stagnant and state austerity is prescribed by the country’s creditors. This leaves the future of Tunisia’s political economy uncertain and crisis-prone, and makes the case for a break away from neoliberalism an urgent necessity

Austerity · Debt · Debt crisis · Democracy · Democratization · Development economics · Dictatorship · Economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Washington Consensus · Economic Theory and Policy · Law · Multiculturalism, Politics, Migration, Gender · Political and Social Issues

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