GEW Editorial
The majority of Tunisians do not assess the extent to which their 2011 revolution transformed the Arab world. Although most nations’ mass media, except for the Arab world, have been encouraging and supporting Tunisia’s unprecedented democratic movement, known as the Arab Spring, many Tunisians have no clue about how much they have impacted all Arab peoples from the Atlantic to the Gulf. Even worse: They do not care. The most important for them is not what their revolution achieved outside the country but inside it, and nobody will blame them for this.
Average Tunisians underestimate their ability to influence and affect events if those events are abroad. They have succeeded, though, in ousting an autocrat and replacing his regime with a democracy. It was not a small achievement. Some take pride in it, but with the difficulties of the post-revolution era, disenchantment is widely diffused in the country. This gloomy mood has been caused and supported by the counter-revolution, creeping on all the Arab Spring countries, Tunisia included. The tsunami unleashed by the Tunisian revolution had to be contained and stopped. Thus spoke the counter-revolution sponsors. Of course, they are all Arabs. The same that we see nowadays watching the Israelis massacring the population of Gaza without feeling embarrassed for their silence or ashamed of their new Israeli ties. Let us call them “conservative,” although conservatism in the conception of Edmund Burke has to be related to great human values, lest it becomes an infantilist reaction against progress.
After the initial shock caused by the Tunisian revolution, the conservative Arabs woke up in a new world, with the beginning of an abhorred regional system where people talk freely about democratic values and express their opinions about dictators and dictatorships without fear. That was something without precedent. That was a nightmare for them because it has spread everywhere in the Arab world… Tomorrow, it will be their turn to accept democracy or give up power.
Arab conservative governments hostile to democracy had no intention of remaining silent. They could not wait until their people revolted against them, demanding accountability and democracy. That was unimaginable!
The situation is similar to the Cold War time when Arab countries were divided into progressive and conservative regimes. Since January 2011, the Arab world has been divided into pro-democratic and anti-democratic regimes.
Two points are worth mentioning:
- First, the Tunisian revolution is genuine and coherent with the historical events and developments that distinguish the country from others in the region. Some authors pretended it was made up or pushed by the CIA and other Western intelligence apparatuses. Smearing the first democratic revolution of the Arab world was, indeed, well paid by the wealthy sponsors of the counter-revolution. Tunisia’s Arab Spring was not born into a historical vacuum. January 11 revolution is linked to a historical leadership role that distinguished Tunisia since the 19th century. It was in Tunisia that the Arab world’s first modern constitution was born, dubbed the Fundamental Pact or Ahd al-Aman in Arabic. Muhammad Bey (1855–59), the ruler of the Husaynid dynasty, issued it in 1857, and it guaranteed equality before the law of all subjects, regardless of religion. It also called for forming a consultative assembly and the administration of justice. The Tanzimat reforms of the Ottoman Empire, which aimed to modernise and westernise the Islamic state, inspired the Fundamental Pact. Tunisia was a regional constitutionalist pioneer when the Fundamental Pact was legally adopted as the country’s constitution in 1861. Let’s not forget the Tunisian further contribution to the Arab reformist movement (Nahdha) through Khereddine Pasha and his famous book: “The Best Paths in Knowing the Conditions of the Kingdoms” (Aqwam al-Masalik Fi Ma’rifat Ahwal al-Mamalik”, which is considered one of the Arab world’s earliest works of modern geography and sociology. The book was published in 1874 and was written in Arabic. It describes in detail the political, economic, social, and cultural aspects of various countries and regions, including Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. The book also includes maps, illustrations, statistics, and historical accounts. Khereddine Pasha wrote the book to educate Tunisians and Muslims about the world and to encourage them to implement reforms and modernisation in order to catch up with the West. The book received widespread acclaim and influence in the Arab and Islamic worlds, as well as in Europe.Tunisia was the first Arab country after independence to respect women\’s rights and outlaw polygamy. Since the time of French colonisation, the national labour union, UGTT, has been a valuable asset to civil society, and it has remained so after independence. Tunisia\’s civil society is one of the most vibrant in the Arab world, earning the country a Nobel Peace Prize for peacefully dealing with inside political conflict. Thus, Tunisia\’s influence and leadership (often unspoken but clear) over the Arab world cannot be contested.
- Second, it is essential not to underestimate Tunisia’s democratic leadership. Indeed, the country is going through a difficult transition period. Many roadblocks stand in its way. However, there is no reason to conclude that Arab people are anti-democratic or prefer dictatorship. In all Arab countries, there is a tremendous desire for freedom and democracy, particularly among the educated elite and the youth, who constitute the demographic majority. Tunisia retains a prominent position on the Arab scene regarding democracy and human rights. The Arab Spring has been met with a robust counter-revolution coordinated by wealthy and powerful conservative Arab governments. Millions of people have suffered as a result of this massive reactionary move backed by billions of dollars. But there is no reason to believe that Arab democracy is extinct. People throughout the Arab world continue to seek freedom and respect, which their governments refuse to acknowledge.
Nevertheless, the difficulties and stalemate are not evidence of an Arab conservative victory in the democratic movement. Social change is the rule, not the exception, and change – like it or not – is still coming. Those who will prevail in the future are not those who have the resources to win short-term battles, but those who have the resources to win the long term; and the long term is for the youth, the educated, and the modern concepts of freedom, and human rights and democracy for all.
