Deep web of corruption One of the celebrated sparks of the Tunisian revolution was the publication of TuniLeaks , which released WikiLeaks files describing the web of corruption surrounding Ben Ali and particularly the family of his wife , Leila Trabelsi . The dynamic of control over both security services and much of the economy allowed for a greater concentration of wealth in the hands of the president and his family and associates at precisely the moment that neoliberal policies that brought similar results on a global scale were being implemented not merely in Tunisia, but around the world . It is crucial to keep this in mind as we consider the possibilities for Tunisia s future ; the country s corruption was not unique or representative of some inherent failure in the society to modernise . Indeed, the World Bank published a report in March of last year explaining how Ben Ali regime gamed the entire political , economic and judicial system of their country to enrich themselves . What made the Ben Ali system work so efficiently for 20 years was not just control over the security services, systematic repression and a permissive and even cooperative international environment . As Beatrice Hibou demonstrates in her magisterial book, The Force of Obedience ( published just as the Tunisian revolution erupted ) , the techniques of domination practised by the government were embedded in the most everyday economic mechanisms such as in the tax system and industry. Jump ahead four years and perhaps the main challenge facing Tunisia is that despite the political revolution that has now been fully institutionalised, the deeper political economy of the country has yet to be reshaped to foster more democratic, sustainable and distributional networks, institutions and relationships . Interim President Moncef Marzouki at least understood this, which is why he focused on a populist agenda of reform based around one of the few discourses that can challenge such a system; a fully institutionalised human rights regime as a guiding principle of political and economic life . Levers of power But today the president is one of the stalwarts of the Ben Ali regime - Beji Caid Essebsi and his Nidaa Tounis party democratically control the levers of power. And with them many figures from the past will re -ensconce themselves in the democratic present - this time in the guise of technocrats with the administrative expertise to reform the system from within . With the interior ministry and security services remaining a bastion of the old system, corruption increased during the transition period, and with unemployment and other economic woes a profound threat to the chances for development and meaningful and widely distributed growth, it s hard to see how the new government will do better than the clearly handicapped transitional regime. Indeed, the basic problem at this start of a new era in Tunisia is that the transitional government failed to prosecute most Ben Ali figures for the massive corruption they engaged in, thus ensuring that they return to continue the same behaviour as soon as they are able . The same dynamics of unemployment, marginalisation and lack of a future that helped radicalise the killers of Paris , is also quite present in Tunisia , which accounts for the rapid rise of extremism under the democratic transition , including the disproportionately large participation of young Tunisians in jihadist activities in Iraq and Syria . Nothing should take away the so far singular accomplishment of the Tunisian revolution - the first youth - led movement to topple a dictator in the Arab world in memory, and so far the only one to shepherd a peaceful transition to a different political system. But as the election results demonstrate, if progressive forces cannot develop a narrative that both helps Tunisians understand how much deeper the system they need to replace is , and gives them a strategy and a sense of hope that it can be changed, the victory of January 14, 2011 , will remain incomplete , and likely tragically so .
Posted on: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 18:27:39 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015