Tunisia’s contested referendum

Tunisia’s contested referendum

For more than a decade, Tunisia was seen as the poster child for democratic transition after the Arab Uprisings of 2011. By 2014 the country had had two free and fair elections and ratified a new constitution. But the consensus-building that went into drafting that new constitution soon dissolved, leaving behind partisan bickering and political deadlock.

Successive governments and parliaments failed to deliver on the socioeconomic demands that had driven the revolution: jobs were still scarce, prices were rising, and the basic services you expect from your government — everything from rubbish collection to transportation — weren’t working. The economy tanked; inflation rose; tens of thousands of young Tunisians hopped on rickety boats, trying to get to Italy. People’s dissatisfaction with their government grew. Protests raged on the streets in the winter of 2020 and spring of 2021. They wanted change.

Then, in July last year, President Kais Saied fired his government, shuttered parliament and essentially took full control of the country, saying it was the only way to stop the political deadlock. Now he’s asking Tunisians to vote in a referendum this Monday to ratify a new constitution — one it appears he’s written almost entirely himself.

This week on Beyond the Headlines, Erin Clare Brown investigates Tunisia’s constitutional referendum — and explains what it means not just for the country but for the wider region.

Episoder(486)

Palestine-activist groups respond to being banned from Israel

Palestine-activist groups respond to being banned from Israel

This week, Israel banned twenty activist organisations over their support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement against Israel or BDS for short. The movement, whose co-founder we speak t...

10 Jan 201823min

Saudi Arabia and the Future of the Regional Order from emerge85

Saudi Arabia and the Future of the Regional Order from emerge85

From our friends on the 85% podcast, we consider the changes unfolding in Saudi Arabia from a regional perspective. In conversation with emerge85 Lab editor-in-chief Joseph Dana, emerge85 co-director ...

5 Jan 201834min

Iran has a long history of protest and civil unrest

Iran has a long history of protest and civil unrest

In Iran, this week a small demonstration that started in Mashhad turned into nationwide protests, with some calling for regime change. Iran has a long history of coups, protests and demonstrations. Of...

3 Jan 201834min

Saudi Arabia's greatest change, the GCC crisis in 2018 and Iraq finally changing for the better

Saudi Arabia's greatest change, the GCC crisis in 2018 and Iraq finally changing for the better

The Middle East in 2017 could look like relatively tame year in a region that has become so characteristic of extreme often dramatic changes.  The Arab world has become a stage for an ever shifting p...

28 Des 201731min

Donald Trump's Jerusalem move and what it means to the region

Donald Trump's Jerusalem move and what it means to the region

Jerusalem serves as one of the holiest sites in the world, and as the scene of some of the most dramatic political events. Donald Trump last week recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which s...

20 Des 201721min

World Arabic Language Day: Is the language being lost?

World Arabic Language Day: Is the language being lost?

As dozens of Arabic-speaking nations celebrate their language this week, The National's Mina Aldroubi, Naser Alwasmi and Saeed Saeed discuss whether the language is being lost, the importance of prese...

18 Des 201718min

Anger in Jerusalem, Syria's future and the UAE's outer space ambitions

Anger in Jerusalem, Syria's future and the UAE's outer space ambitions

The United States is now the only country in the world that recognises Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Since president Donald Trump announced the move in a speech last week, protests have continue...

13 Des 201729min

GCC  leaders meet in Kuwait, plus Stephen Hadley talks Trump and Jerusalem

GCC leaders meet in Kuwait, plus Stephen Hadley talks Trump and Jerusalem

This week's GCC summit may have closed a day early but there were some signs that progress had been made on the row between members states the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, and Qatar. Though there wa...

6 Des 201734min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
forklart
i-retten
popradet
stopp-verden
aftenpodden-usa
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
rss-gukild-johaug
det-store-bildet
fotballpodden-2
dine-penger-pengeradet
nokon-ma-ga
rss-ness
hanna-de-heldige
aftenbla-bla
frokostshowet-pa-p5
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
e24-podden
rss-utenrikskomiteen-med-bogen-og-grasvik