International Influences on Tunisian Democratisation

by Pietro Marzo

Overview

This book focuses on international influences and global factors that surrounded Ben Ali’s regime breakdown and the democratization process in Tunisia. Relying on extensive fieldwork, the research explores the interplay between international and national actors and presents two main arguments. First, it shows that although Western states officially remained allies of Ben Ali until the end of his regime (1987-2011), democracy promoters and international actors supported interactions and connections among Tunisian individuals with critical views of Ben Ali. These activities fostered the emergence of alternative centres of power and would-be political coalitions, which eventually weakened the internal and external legitimacy of the Ben Ali regime. Second, the book argues that between 2011 and 2021 international assistance helped Tunisian transitional elites to build a procedural democracy. Yet foreign assistance and democracy promotion failed to boost more substantive aspects of democratization, indirectly contributing to the rise of popular disillusion with democracy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781399511612
Publisher:	Edinburgh University Press
Publication date:	06/30/2025
Series:	Edinburgh Studies on the Maghreb
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Pietro Marzo is Assistant Professor at TELUQ University, Quebec Canada. He is an affiliated member of the Interdisciplinary Centre of Research for Africa and Middle East at Laval University. He has published several articles and book chapters on Tunisian politics, on the international relations of the MENA region and on research methodology.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgment
List of Abbreviations and Acronyms

Introduction

1. The International Dimension of Democratization
2. An Historical Analysis of Tunisia International Context
3. The United States and the Tunisia’s Democratization
4. Germany and Tunisian Democratization
5. Achievements, Flaws and Unintended Consequences of Democracy Promotion
6. The European Union and the Tunisia Democratization
7. The Policy of International Financial Institutions in Tunisia

Conclusion

Appendix A: List of Organizations
Bibliography