Navigating international scrutiny
Algeria and Tunisia at the international labor organization
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8133263 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Dina Bishara (0000-0001-5440-7015, Cornell University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-18 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-25 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of North African Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1362-9387 • E-ISSN: 1743-9345 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13629387.2026.2620711 |
| OpenAlex | W7133936446 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 29 |
In June 2024, two North African states – Algeria and Tunisia – were among 24 individual cases discussed by the Committee on the Application of Standards (CAS) at the International Labor Organization (ILO). The two countries were targeted for their non-compliance with fundamental ILO conventions on freedom of association and the right to organise. Algeria’s government was far less conciliatory than its Tunisian counterpart, contesting key parts of the process. It also privileged loyalist unions. What explains these divergent dynamics? Studies of international human rights pressure would suggest that regime type plays an important role in states’ response to international shaming efforts. Yet, both countries were authoritarian at the time. I argue that the countries’ divergent trade union histories are key to understanding the countries’ responses to ILO shaming. Tunisia’s more cohesive and historically stronger trade union movement meant that the Tunisian state would need to confront a more formidable domestic adversary at the CAS. By contrast, trade union fragmentation in Algeria and the country’s weaker and less independent trade union confederation meant that the state could marginalise autonomous unions and have more leeway to push back against the ILO. These findings shed light on how authoritarian regimes respond to shaming efforts.
Government (linguistics · International relations · Labor relations · Work (physics · African history and culture studies · International Labor and Employment Law · North African History and Literature
Understanding the Persistence of Competitive Authoritarianism in Algeria
Workers and Thieves
The origins of labour autonomy in authoritarian Tunisia
The paradox of sovereignty, regime type and human rights compliance
Crisis and transformation in post-Bouteflika Algeria
Disinformation as an authoritarian strategy
No smiling for Algerian workers
Shaming into compliance? Country reporting of convention adherence to the International Labour Organization
Labor Standards and Labor Market Flexibility in the Middle East
The Tunisian General Labor Union and the Advent of Democracy
Domestic Responses to International Pressure
Shaming and democracy
Algeria
Sticks and Stones
Politicizing terror
Legacy Trade Unions as Brokers of Democratization? Lessons from Tunisia
Political, Not Partisan
Citizens and Condemnation
When Is the Pen Truly Mighty? Regime Type and the Efficacy of Naming and Shaming in Curbing Human Rights Abuses
Global Labor and the Arab Uprisings
Defeating Autocrats from below
Authoritarianism’s reemergence in North Africa and the Middle East
Civil society in Tunisia
Compliance without coercion
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Autocracy
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |