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السلفيون الجهاديّون في تونس: سر انتشارهم الواسع في الأوساط الشعبيّة
مثّلت حادثة السفارة الأميركيّة في 14 أيلول/سبتمبر 2012، (الاحتجاجات العنيفة على فيلم «براءة المسلمين» التي أدّت الى اقتحام وحرق بعض مباني تابعة للسفارة، وإلى سقوط 4 متظاهرين قتلى برصاص الأمن) منعرجاً فارقاً في تناول الظاهرة السلفيّة في تونس. إذ بدا واضحاً أنّ «الاحتواء المتبادَل الحذِر» الذي ميّز العلاقة بين حركة ... Read More »
Alternative Worlds at the 2013 World Social Forum in Tunis
Last month, I attended my first World Social Forum (WSF) in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. I study social movements and teach about the WSF and the very different and more established annual scrum of the powerful in Davos: the World Economic Forum. I was eager to attend the 2013 WSF (26-30 March) because of its ... Read More »
من يكتب أدب الثورة؟
لكل ثورة أدباؤها ولكل حدث بديع في تاريخ الإنسانية من يشتغلون على تدوينه، بشتى الوسائل المتاحة، حتى يخلد ويبقى إرثاً لا تطاله أيادي التقادم. ولأن رسالة الأدب، في المحصلة، تتجاوز الحيز الجغرافي الذي يُولَدُ فيه، ليعانق الانشغالات الإنسانية بمعزل عن المكان الذي احتضنه واللغة التي أُنتج بها والثقافة التي آوته بما يشكله من ... Read More »
Salafism in Tunisia: An Interview with a Member of Ansar al-Sharia
The emergence of Salafi movements in post-Ben Ali Tunisia surprised both the international community and many in Tunisia itself. The astonishment was such that when the first Salafi demonstrations took place in downtown Tunis, journalists and observers were talking quite confusingly about the phenomenon. Some accused ... Read More »
New Texts Out Now: David McMurray and Amanda Ufheil-Somers, The Arab Revolts
David McMurray and Amanda Ufheil-Somers, editors, The Arab Revolts: Dispatches on Militant Democracy in the Middle East. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2013. Published in association with Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP). Jadaliyya (J): What made you compile this volume? David McMurray ... Read More »
World Social Forum Highlights Shock Doctrine in Tunisia
An estimated fifty thousand people from five thousand organizations in 127 countries spanning five continents participated in the World Social Forum (WSF) in Tunisia over the past week. By choosing to come together in Tunis, this year’s Forum evoked the sprit of the 2011 revolt that inspired uprisings around the ... Read More »
Wafa Ben Hassine on Social Media in Post-Ben Ali Tunisia
[This post is part of an ongoing Profile of a Contemporary Conduit series on Jadaliyya that seeks to highlight distinct voices primarily in and from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia.] Jadaliyya (J): What do you think are the most gratifying aspects of Tweeting and Twitter? Wafa Ben Hassine (WBH): The ... Read More »
A qui profite la récupération des biens de Ben Ali ?
Pour marquer la fin de 2012, une année plutôt chaotique pour une Tunisie en pleine transition politique, le ministre des Finances tunisien a organisé un événement spectaculaire : une vente aux enchères publique des biens de l'ancien président Ben Ali provenant de son palais privé à Sidi Dhrif, une somptueuse ... Read More »
Statement Supporting Topless Tunisian Feminist
[The following statement was published by FEMEN on 22 March 2013.] 19 year old Tunisian Amina who posted a topless photo of herself bearing the slogan “my body belongs to me, and is not the source of anyone’s honour” has been threatened with death. Islamist cleric Adel Almi, president of ... Read More »
الأطر النظرية لفهم النماذج التنموية في مراحل ما بعد الثورات
عندما سأل أحد الأِشخاص "ماو تسي تونج" يومًا عن رأيه في الثورة الفرنسية، فكان رده "إن من المبكر الحكم عليها". ويذكرنا هذا بأن الحكم على حَدَثٍ في التاريخ بأنه كان ثورة من عدمه ليس جدلا أكاديميًّا أو نظريًّا بقدر ما هو جزء من الظاهرة التاريخية ذاتها محل التشكل في زمن كتابة هذه السطور. ورصد وتسجيل ... Read More »
Social Struggles in Tunisia: A Curse or a Revolutionary Opportunity?
The Tunisian revolution was often painted as a sort of “divine” event during which the united and homogenous “Tunisian people” succeeded in getting rid of their “dictator.” As if by the force of some quasi-magical act, all it took was the coming together of the people screaming a unified dégage on 14 January ... Read More »
The Urban Subalterns and the Non-Movements of the Arab Uprisings: An Interview with Asef Bayat
This interview was conducted with Asef Bayat via electronic correspondence. In it, Bayat discusses the inside-out character of neoliberal cities in the Arab world and its influence on the recent wave of protests known collectives as the Arab uprisings. In addition, Bayat elaborates on the notion of urban subalterns, ... Read More »
Ennahda: A Party in Transition
Since the assassination of Chokri Belaid, Tunisia is living the most difficult stage of its revolutionary transition. Even before the murder of Belaid, a long institutional crisis had kept the country in limbo with the prolonged absence of a constitution. Belaid’s death pushed it on the edge of chaos. Much has been ... Read More »
The Tunisian Constituent Assembly's By-laws: A Brief Analysis
[The following report was issued by the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance on 26 February 2013.] The Tunisian Constituent Assembly's By-laws: A Brief Analysis Executive Summary In response to the Jasmine Revolution, Tunisia is in the process of developing a new constitution. The ... Read More »
Tunisia and the IMF: A Beggar State and an Impoverished People
In November 2012, Tunisia signed a loan with the World Bank for a total value of five hundred million dollars. This was on top of other loans received in November from various lenders that totaled seven hundred million dollars. Following an interview with Reuters last month, Riadh Bettaieb, the Tunisian minister of ... Read More »
Self-Immolations Continue in Tunisia
On 12 March, Adel Khadri, a twenty-seven year old cigarette street vendor, set himself on fire on Tunis’ main street, Habib Bourguiba Avenue. According to eyewitnesses, Khadri shouted: “This is a young man who sells cigarettes because of unemployment,” before setting himself on fire. Khadri passed away early this ... Read More »
الخوف والغضب: المرأة وعنف ما بعد الثورة
أحد الملاحظات التي لا يمكن إغفالها أثناء انتفاضات ‘الربيع العربي’ في مصر وتونس أتت من النساء اللواتي ادعين أنهن شعرن أخيراً بالأمان في الأماكن العامة في مجتمعات سِجلّها من التحرش الجنسي ضد المرأة يدفع المرء لتمني الكثير من التحسن. إن اندماج المواطنين وتعبئتهم – الشاب والمسن، محجبات وغير محجبات، ذكر وأنثى، مسلم ... Read More »
A Betrayed Revolution?: On the Tunisian Uprising and the Democratic Transition
On the evening of 14 January 2011, a single man was shouting on Bourguiba Avenue, "Ben Ali hrab!" (Ben Ali has fled), celebrating the stunning victory of a revolution. In this cry, the admiration for the people, love for freedom, and sorrow for the dead was heard. He was alone in the dark, on an avenue that ... Read More »
Poems from the Maghreb: Introduction and Selections
[To celebrate the publication of Poems for the Millennium: Vol 4, edited by Pierre Joris and Habib Tangour (University of California Press, 2013), a comprehensive anthology of the written and oral literatures of the Maghreb, Jadaliyya is publishing the editors' introduction and a selection of poems (Mehdi Akhrif, ... Read More »
Tunisia: Violence and the Salafi Challenge
[The following report was issued by International Crisis Group on 13 February 2013.] Tunisia: Violence and the Salafi Challenge Executive Summary The assassination of Chokri Belaïd, a prominent opposition politician, has thrown Tunisia into its worst crisis since the January 2011 ouster of President ... Read More »
Call for Applicants: Summer Arabic & Politics Exchange (14 June - 12 July, Tunis)
Mideastwire.com and its partners - Université Paris-Dauphine I Tunis, Tunisia Live and the Bosphore Academy - are pleased to announce the first Summer Arabic & Politics Exchange June 14-July 12, 2013, in Tunis, Tunisia. The four-week course will immerse our participants in the language and politics of the ... Read More »
إغتيال عيد العرب
تونس ليست لبنان. قلتها فانهالت علي الشتائم والتهم. لكني أعيدها، تونس ليست لبنان من حيث الإغتيالات السياسية. فقد عانى لبنان في الستين سنةً التي تلت استقلاله عشرات الإغتيالات المدبرة، حصدت أرواح رؤساء وزعماء أحزاب ووزراء ورجال دين وغيرهم من القيادات. أما تونس ما بعد الإستقلال فقد شهدت جريمةً واحدةً من هذا الحجم، تلك ... Read More »
Assassination, Resignations, and Reshufflings: Tunisia’s Latest Developments
The Beginning: Rise of the Troika On 23 October 2011, Tunisians took to the polls resulting in Ennahda’s electoral victory. An Islamist party previously oppressed by ousted dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s regime, a majority of voters hoped this opposition party would bring much-needed change following the ... Read More »
Assassinat de Chokri Belaid : Onde de choc internationale
Les capitales occidentales et l’ONU dénoncent un assassinat politique Très rapidement, dès la confirmation de la mort du charismatique leader de gauche Chokri Belaid, c’est François Hollande qui est parmi les premiers à réagir en dénonçant le meurtre « d’une des voix les plus courageuses et les plus libres » de ... Read More »
Remembering Chokri Belaid
A Figure from the Revolutionary Left Assassinated Chokri Belaid, the heavily mediatized leader of the Popular Front (Jabha Chaabya), was shot several times early Wednesday morning at his home in Menzah 6. The charismatic figure of the revolutionary left was shot with two to four bullets; the government is saying it ... Read More »
Tunisian Opposition Leader, Chokri Belaid, Assassinated
This morning, news slowly trickled in through national and international media following reports of Chokri Belaid's assassination. Initial reports claimed Belaid died from two bullets to the head outside his home in Tunis, but medical reports followed up and clarified that there were four, not two. Immediately after ... Read More »
Taher Bekri: Epic of the Thyme of Palestine
Epic of the Thyme of Palestine By Taher Bekri In memory of Mahmoud Darwish Translated by Marilyn Hacker I perfumed the hills and plains Nourished by brilliant light Accompanied wanderers’ steps Through the earth’s ancestral rites All those domes, bell-towers, temples Offered up for a thousand ... Read More »
Repossessing the Dispossessed
To mark the end of 2012, a somewhat bumpy year for Tunisia’s political transition, the Tunisian Ministry of Finance organized a spectacular event: a public auction and sale of goods and trinkets nationalized from Ben Ali’s private palace in Sidi Dhrif, a palatial home overlooking the Bay of Tunis and the idyllic sea ... Read More »
L’an I de la Révolution tunisienne ou les résurgences d’un passé qui divise
La Tunisie révolutionnaire ne cesse d’aller de surprise en surprise. Du jour même, du moment où elle s’est pensée comme révolutionnaire, elle est entrée dans un processus d’incessante redécouverte d’elle-même et de ses ressources cachées, dans l’enchantement comme dans la crainte et la stupeur. L’échéance ... Read More »
Qatar: Outrageous Life Sentence for 'Jasmine Poet' (Video)
[The following report, issued by Amnesty International on 29 November 2012, documents the sentencing of Mohammed Ibn al-Dheeb for the publication of his "Jasmine Poem." The video that follows is a recitation of that poem.] A life sentence handed today to a Qatari poet has all the hallmarks of an outrageous ... Read More »
Syrian Population Regression
Population: ~ 22.5 Million
2011: 5,800+ (killed)
2012: 60,000+ (killed) and 500,000+ (external refugees)
2013: 70,000+ (killed) and 1,000,000+ (external refugees)
Syria Map and Stats
Population: 22,517,750
GDP: $107.4 billion
Unemployment: 8.3%; Youth Employment (ages 15-24): 19.1%
Internet Users: 4.469 million
Exchange Rate: ~ 98.00 Syrian pounds per US dollar
GDP Growth Rate: 3.2%
Military Expenditures: 5.9% of GDP (World Rank: 10)
Health Expenditures: 2.9% of GDP (World Rank: 180)
Population Growth Rate: 0.913%
Age Structure: 0-14 years: 35.2%; 15-64 years: 61%; 65 years and over: 3.8%
Literacy: 79.6%
Religious Demographics: Sunni Muslim 74%; other Muslim (includes Alawite, Druze) 16%; Christian (various denominations) 10%
Ethnic Demographics: Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%
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