Socialism in Tunisia

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Socialism in Tunisia or Tunisian socialism is a political philosophy that is shared by various political parties of the country. It has played a role in the country's history from the time of the Tunisian independence movement against France up through the Tunisian Revolution to the present day.

Contents

Tunisian Communist Party

Neo Destour

Movement of Socialist Democrats

In 1978, the Movement of Socialist Democrats (MDS) was founded by defectors from the then ruling Socialist Destourian Party (PSD) and liberal-minded expatriates. The founders of the MDS had already been involved in the establishment of the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH) in 1976/77. [1] Its first secretary general was Ahmed Mestiri who had been a member of the PSD and interior minister in the government of Habib Bourguiba, but was dropped from the government in 1971 and expelled from the party after he had called for democratic reforms and pluralism. The MDS to officially register in 1983. It was one of three legal oppositional parties during the 1980s. The MDS welcomed Zine El Abidine Ben Ali taking over the presidency from the longterm head of state Bourguiba in 1987. Many MDS members believed that Ben Ali really pursued reforms and liberalisation and defected to his Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD), weakening the MDS. Ahmed Mestiri led the party until 1990. In the early 1990s, the party was torn between cooperation with the government and opposition. [2] Those who strove for a strictly oppositional course left the party or were edged out. [3] In 1994, a group of MDS dissidents around Mustapha Ben Jaafar founded the Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties (FDTL), which was only legalised in 2002.

Unionist Democratic Union

Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties

On 9 April 1994, the Democratic Forum for Labour and Liberties (Ettakatol or FDTL) was founded and officially recognized on 25 October 2002. Is a social democratic and secularist political party in Tunisia. [4] [5] Its founder and Secretary-General is the radiologist Mustapha Ben Jafar. [6]

Ettajdid Movement

Ahmed Brahim AhmedBrahim.JPG
Ahmed Brahim

Active from 1993 to 2012, the Ettajdid Movement (Movement for Renewal) was a centre-left secularist, democratic socialist and social liberal political party in Tunisia. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] It was led by Ahmed Ibrahim. [12] For the Constituent assembly election, Ettajdid formed a strongly secularist alliance called Democratic Modernist Pole (PDM), of which it was the mainstay. [13] [14]

Ahmed Brahim was the First Secretary of the movement and also the leader of the Democratic Modernist Pole until April 2012, when his party merged into the Social Democratic Path of which he became the president. He was the Ettajdid Movement's candidate for President of Tunisia in the 2009 presidential election. [15] [16] Brahim was in favor of the emergence of a "democratic modern and secular [laicist] state" not connected with Islamists. According to Brahim, this would require "radical" reform of the electoral system, which would improve the political climate in guaranteeing freedom of assembly and a large scale independent press, as well as repealing a law that regulated public discourse of electoral candidates. [17]

Congress for the Republic

Socialist Party

Tunisian Revolution

Protesters on Avenue Habib Bourguiba, downtown Tunis on 14 January 2011, a few hours before president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled the country. Tunisia Unrest - VOA - Tunis 14 Jan 2011 (2).jpg
Protesters on Avenue Habib Bourguiba, downtown Tunis on 14 January 2011, a few hours before president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled the country.

The Tunisian Revolution [18] was an intensive campaign of civil resistance, including a series of street demonstrations taking place in Tunisia, and led to the ousting of longtime president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011. It eventually led to a thorough democratization of the country and to free and democratic elections with the Tunisian Constitution of 2014, [19] which is seen as progressive, increases human rights, gender equality, government duties toward people, lays the ground for a new parliamentary system and makes Tunisia a decentralized and open government. [19] [20] And with the held of the country first parliamentary elections since the 2011 Arab Spring [21] and its presidentials on 23 November 2014, [22] which finished its transition to a democratic state. These elections were characterized by the fall in popularity of Ennahdha, for the secular Nidaa Tounes party, which became the first party of the country. [23]

The demonstrations were caused by high unemployment, food inflation, corruption, [24] [25] a lack of political freedoms like freedom of speech [26] and poor living conditions. The protests constituted the most dramatic wave of social and political unrest in Tunisia in three decades [27] [28] and resulted in scores of deaths and injuries, most of which were the result of action by police and security forces against demonstrators. The protests were sparked by the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi on 17 December 2010 [29] [30] [31] and led to the ousting of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali 28 days later on 14 January 2011, when he officially resigned after fleeing to Saudi Arabia, ending 23 years in power. [32] [33] Labour unions were said to be an integral part of the protests. [34] The Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet was awarded the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize for "its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Tunisian Revolution of 2011". [35] The protests inspired similar actions throughout the Arab world.

People's Movement

Founded in 2011, the People's Movement is a secularist and Arab nationalist political party in Tunisia. [36] It has a social democratic platform and is aligned with workers groups. [37] The party belongs to the Popular Front coalition of left-leaning parties led by Hamma Hammami, leader of the Tunisian Workers Party. [38] The coalition includes ten nationalist left-wing groups, including the People's Movement. [39]

Democratic Modernist Pole

Democratic Current

Social Democratic Path

Mohamed Brahmi, founder a former leader of the Popular Front, assassinated on 25 July 2013. MohamedBrahmi 2Juin2012 ANC.jpg
Mohamed Brahmi, founder a former leader of the Popular Front, assassinated on 25 July 2013.

The Popular Front for the Realization of the Objectives of the Revolution, short Popular Front (ej-Jabha), is a leftist political and electoral alliance in Tunisia, made up of nine political parties and numerous independents. The coalition was formed in October 2012, bringing together 12 mainly left-wing Tunisian parties including the Democratic Patriots' Unified Party, the Workers' Party, Green Tunisia, the Movement of Socialist Democrats (which has left), the Tunisian Ba'ath Movement and Arab Democratic Vanguard Party, two different parties of the Iraqi branch of Ba'ath Party, and other progressive parties. [40] The number of parties involved in the coalition has since decreased to nine. [41] Approximately 15,000 people attended the coalition's first meeting in Tunis. [42]

The coordinator of the Popular Front coalition, Chokri Belaid, was killed by an unknown gunman on 6 February 2013. An estimated 1,400,000 people took part in his funeral, [43] while protesters clashed with police and Ennahda supporters, [44]

On 25 July 2013, Mohamed Brahmi, founder a former leader of the Popular Front, assassinated on [45] was assassinated. Numerous protests erupted in the streets following his assassination. Following his death, hundreds of his supporters, including relatives and party members of the People's Movement, demonstrated in front of the Interior Ministry's building on Avenue Habib Bourguiba and blamed the incumbent Ennahda Party and their followers for the assassination. [46] [47] Hundreds of supporters also protested in Brahmi's hometown of Sidi Bouzid. [46]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Tunisia</span>

The politics of Tunisia takes place within the framework of a unitary semi-presidential representative democratic republic, with a president serving as head of state, prime minister as head of government, a unicameral legislature and a court system influenced by French civil law. Between 1956 and 2011, Tunisia operated as a de facto one-party state, with politics dominated by the secular Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) under former presidents Habib Bourguiba and then Zine el Abidine Ben Ali. However, in 2011 a national uprising led to the ousting of Ben Ali and the dismantling of the RCD, paving the way for a multi-party democracy. October 2014 saw the first democratic parliamentary elections since the 2011 revolution, resulting in a win by the secularist Nidaa Tounes party with 85 seats in the 217-member assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic Constitutional Rally</span> 1988–2011 ruling party of Tunisia

The Democratic Constitutional Rally or Democratic Constitutional Assembly, also referred to by its French initials RCD, formerly called Neo Destour then Socialist Destourian Party, was the ruling party in Tunisia from independence in 1956 until it was overthrown and dissolved in the Tunisian revolution in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Movement of Socialist Democrats</span> Political party in Tunisia

The Movement of Socialist Democrats is a political party in Tunisia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ettajdid Movement</span> Political party in Tunisia

The Ettajdid Movement, also referred to simply as Ettajdid, was a centre-left secularist political party in Tunisia, active from 1993 to 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Progressive Democratic Party (Tunisia)</span> Political party in Tunisia

The Progressive Democratic Party, also referred to by its acronym PDP, was a secular liberal political party in Tunisia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tunisian revolution</span> 2010–2011 revolution that overthrew President Ben Ali

The Tunisian revolution, also called the Jasmine Revolution and Tunisian Revolution of Dignity, was an intensive 28-day campaign of civil resistance. It included a series of street demonstrations which took place in Tunisia, and led to the ousting of longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011. It eventually led to a thorough democratization of the country and to free and democratic elections, which had led to people believing it was the only successful movement in the Arab Spring.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ennahda</span> Political party in Tunisia

The Ennahda Movement, also known as the Renaissance Party or simply known as Ennahda, is a self-defined Islamic democratic political party in Tunisia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmed Brahim (Tunisian politician)</span>

Ahmed Brahim was a Tunisian politician. He was the First Secretary of Ettajdid Movement and the leader of the Democratic Modernist Pole until April 2012, when his party merged into the Social Democratic Path of which he became the president. He was the Ettajdid Movement's candidate for President of Tunisia in the 2009 presidential election. A linguist by profession, he was a professor of French at Tunis University; his area of study was comparative linguistics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chokri Belaid</span> Tunisian politician and lawyer

Chokri Belaïd, also transliterated as Shokri Belaïd, was a Tunisian politician and lawyer who was an opposition leader with the left-secular Democratic Patriots' Movement. Belaïd was a vocal critic of the Ben Ali regime prior to the 2011 Tunisian revolution and of the then Islamist-led Tunisian government. On 6 February 2013, he was fatally shot outside his house in El Menzah, close to the Tunisian capital, Tunis. As a result of his assassination, Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali announced his plan to dissolve the existing national government and to form a temporary "national unity" government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Popular Front (Tunisia)</span> Alliance of political parties in Tunisia

The Popular Front for the Realization of the Objectives of the Revolution, abbreviated as the Popular Front (ej-Jabha), is a leftist political and electoral alliance in Tunisia, made up of nine political parties and numerous independents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social Democratic Path</span> Political party in Tunisia

Social Democratic Path is a centre-left secularist political party in Tunisia. It was formed on 1 April 2012, by the merger of the post-communist Ettajdid Movement and the Tunisian Labour Party, including some individual members of the Democratic Modernist Pole, together holding seven seats in the Constituent Assembly. It is led by Ahmed Brahim, former secretary of the Ettajdid Movement. On 11 February 2013, it became a part of the Union for Tunisia alliance of secularist parties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohamed Brahmi</span> Tunisian politician

Mohamed Brahmi was a Tunisian politician. Brahmi was the founder and former leader of the People's Movement, which, under his leadership, won two seats in the constituent election in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People's Movement (Tunisia)</span> Political party in Tunisia

The People's Movement or Echaab Movement is a political party in Tunisia. It is a secularist, social democratic, Nasserist and Arab nationalist party founded in April 2011. The composition of the party has changed several times as a result of mergers and splits. Between 2013 and 2014, the People's Movement was a member of the Popular Front coalition, one of the three main coalitions of political parties in Tunisia. The former leader and founder of the party, Mohamed Brahmi, was assassinated on 25 July 2013 by unknown killers.

Anarchism in Tunisia has its roots in the works of the philosopher Ibn Khaldun, with the modern anarchist movement being first brought to the country in the late 19th century by Italian immigrants. The contemporary anarchist movement arose as a result of the Arab Spring and the aftermath of the Tunisian Revolution.

A political crisis evolved in Tunisia following the assassination of leftist leader Mohamed Brahmi in late July 2013, during which the country's mainly secular opposition organized several protests against the ruling Troika alliance that was dominated by Rashid al-Ghannushi's Islamist Ennahda Movement. The events came as part of the aftermath of the Tunisian Revolution which ousted the country's longtime president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, followed by a general election which saw Ennahda win a plurality alongside Moncef Marzouki's allied Congress for the Republic (CPR). The crisis gradually subsided when Prime Minister Ali Laarayedh resigned and a new constitution was adopted in January 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selma Hédia Mabrouk</span> Tunisian politician

Selma Hédia Mabrouk is a secular Tunisian politician who served on the 2011 Tunisian Constituent Assembly as a representative of Ettakatol party for the Ben Arous district. She made international headlines when she revealed that the initial draft of the constitution was attempting to define women as a "complement with the man in the family, and an associate to the man in the development of the country." The revelation was shocking to Tunisian society, where women had achieved rights unknown in the rest of the Arab world, and caused immediate outrage. Mabrouk's social media posts were instrumental in having those passages struck from the final constitution.

Mohamed Harmel was a Tunisian politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet</span> Democracy advocates in Tunisia

The Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet is a group of four civil society organizations that were central mediators in the effort to consolidate democratic gains and form a lasting constitutional settlement in Tunisia following the unrest and historic regime change of the 2011 Jasmine Revolution.[1]

The 18 October Coalition for Rights and Freedoms in Tunisia, was formed when a number of political parties, NGOs and human rights activists advocating various political ideologies, among them Islamists, secularists and communists, came together to campaign against the dictatorship, political misconduct and human rights violations of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s regime in pre-revolutionary Tunisia. As the head of the Tunisian Journalists Union and human rights activist Lutfi Hajji writes, the coalition “expressed the long- cherished hope of the political and civil forces in the country that by rallying around basic claims, a balance could be reached between the ruling party, which had dominated all aspects of political life for half a century, and the opposition forces which remained disparate and hindered by their internal and external disputes.”

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberalism in Tunisia</span> Overview of liberalism in Tunisia

Liberalism in Tunisia, or Tunisian Liberalism, is a school of political ideology that encompasses various political parties in the country.

References

  1. ↑ Alexander, Christopher (2010), Tunisia: Stability and Reform in the Modern Maghreb, Routledge, p. 46
  2. ↑ Waltz, Susan E. (1995), Human Rights and Reform: Changing the Face of North African Politics, University of California Press, p. 70
  3. ↑ Waltz (1995), Human Rights and Reform, p. 185
  4. ↑ "Factbox – How Tunisia's election will work", Reuters, 22 October 2011, archived from the original on March 6, 2016, retrieved 22 October 2011
  5. ↑ "Tunisia - Opposition Parties". Global Security. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  6. ↑ "Photo of Mustapha Ben Jaafar, 22 Jan 2011". Getty Images. 27 January 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
  7. ↑ Marks, Monica (26 October 2011), "Can Islamism and Feminism Mix?", New York Times, retrieved 28 October 2011
  8. ↑ Fisher, Max (27 October 2011), "Tunisian Election Results Guide: The Fate of a Revolution", The Atlantic, retrieved 28 October 2011
  9. ↑ Ryan, Yasmine (14 January 2011). "Tunisia president not to run again". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
  10. ↑ Chebbi, Najib (18 January 2011). "Tunisia: who are the opposition leaders?". Daily Telegraph . London. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
  11. ↑ "Tunisia seeks to form unity cabinet after Ben Ali fall". BBC News . 16 January 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
  12. ↑ "Tunisia forms national unity government amid unrest". BBC. 17 January 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
  13. ↑ Chrisafis, Angelique (19 October 2011), "Tunisian elections: the key parties", The Guardian, retrieved 24 October 2011
  14. ↑ Bollier, Sam (9 Oct 2011), "Who are Tunisia's political parties?", Al Jazeera, retrieved 21 October 2011
  15. ↑ Walid Khéfifi. "Ettajdid : Ahmed Brahim succède à Harmel". Le Quotidien .
  16. ↑ Nadia Bentamansourt (14 April 2016). "Ahmed Brahim n'est plus - African Manager". African Manager.
  17. ↑ "Ahmed Brahim troisième candidat de l'opposition à la présidence". Jeune Afrique . 24 March 2009.
  18. ↑ Ryan, Yasmine (26 January 2011). "How Tunisia's revolution began – Features". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  19. 1 2 "New Tunisian Constitution Adopted". Tunisia Live. 26 January 2014. Archived from the original on 27 January 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  20. ↑ Tarek Amara (27 January 2014). "Arab Spring beacon Tunisia signs new constitution". Reuters. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  21. ↑ "Tunisie : les législatives fixées au 26 octobre et la présidentielle au 23 novembre". Jeune Afrique. 25 June 2014.
  22. ↑ "Tunisia holds first post-revolution presidential poll". BBC News. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  23. ↑ النتائج النهائية للانتخابات التشريعية [Final results of parliamentary elections](PDF) (in Arabic). 20 November 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  24. ↑ "A Snapshot of Corruption in Tunisia". Business Anti-Corruption Portal. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  25. ↑ Spencer, Richard (13 January 2011). "Tunisia riots: Reform or be overthrown, US tells Arab states amid fresh riots". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  26. ↑ Ryan, Yasmine. "Tunisia's bitter cyberwar". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  27. ↑ "Tunisia's Protest Wave: Where It Comes From and What It Means for Ben Ali | The Middle East Channel". Mideast.foreignpolicy.com. 3 January 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  28. ↑ Borger, Julian (29 December 2010). "Tunisian president vows to punish rioters after worst unrest in a decade". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  29. ↑ Tunisia suicide protester Mohammed Bouazizi dies, BBC, 5 January 2011.
  30. ↑ Fahim, Kareem (21 January 2011). "Slap to a Man's Pride Set Off Tumult in Tunisia". The New York Times. p. 2. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  31. ↑ Worth, Robert F. (21 January 2011). "How a Single Match Can Ignite a Revolution". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  32. ↑ Davies, Wyre (15 December 2010). "Tunisia: President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali forced out". BBC News. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  33. ↑ "Uprising in Tunisia: People Power topples Ben Ali regime". Indybay. 16 January 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  34. ↑ "Trade unions: the revolutionary social network at play in Egypt and Tunisia". Defenddemocracy.org. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
  35. ↑ "The Nobel Peace Prize 2015 - Press Release". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  36. ↑ Jihen Laghmari (25 July 2013). "Tunisia Party Leader Brahmi Shot Dead Outside His Home". Bloomberg . Retrieved 2013-07-28.
  37. ↑ Margaret Coker (26 July 2013). "Assassination Threatens New Tunisia Unrest". The Wall Street Journal : A8. Retrieved 2013-07-28.
  38. ↑ Kumaran Ira (27 July 2013). "Tunisian opposition seizes on Brahmi's murder to push for Egypt-style coup". World Socialist Web Site. International Committee of the Fourth International . Retrieved 2013-07-28.
  39. ↑ "Tunisie : obsèques sous tension du député Mohamed Brahmi". Le Monde . 27 July 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-28.
  40. ↑ "A new stage in left regroupment" . Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  41. ↑ Jano Charbel (13 October 2014). "The left of the Arab world". Mada Masr. Archived from the original on 17 October 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  42. ↑ "Popular Front is Born". Demotix. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  43. ↑ "Tunisie: Plus d'un million de Tunisiens aux obsèques de Chokri Belaïd". 20minutes.fr. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  44. ↑ "Tunisia pledges new govt after opposition leader's killing". Daily Star. 7 February 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  45. ↑ "Thousands attend funeral of Tunisian MP". Al Jazeera. 27 July 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  46. 1 2 Daragahi, Borzou. Salafist identified as suspect in Tunisia assassination. Financial Times . 26 July 2013.
  47. ↑ Gall, Carlotta (26 July 2013). "Second Opposition Leader Assassinated in Tunisia". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
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