This report summarizes the key findings from a workshop on Tunisian politics and Islam the Baker Institute hosted at the Al-Kawakibi Democracy Transition Center in Tunis on Feb. 12.
The briefs in this collection examine Ennahdha’s future and its place in Tunisia’s evolving political landscape, paying particular attention to shifts in the relationship between religion and politics.
Contrary to expectations, the relationship between Ennahdha and the Salafis in Tunisia was destined for failure. The authors explain why, but note that the reasons young people looked to Salafism for revolutionary purity and inspiration remain. Those interested in the stability of Tunisia's regime should not take the defeat of Salafism for granted, they write.
Sabrina Zouaghi, Francesco CavatortaApril 27, 2018
Ennahdha, a political party of Muslim democrats, is a major force in Tunisia's emergence as a democracy. The author explains why a viable Islamic rival has not appeared and explores the implications for Tunisia should one emerge.
In February 2018, the Baker Institute, the American University of Beirut’s Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York held a two-day conference in Beirut to examine critical challenges and effective policy options for fostering more inclusive and pluralistic systems in the MENA. Leading experts discussed issues such as post-conflict reconstruction and the economic, political, and socio-religious dimensions of pluralism and inclusion in the MENA. This report summarizes some of the participants' discussions and proposals.
This brief explores how the alliance between Tunisia's two leading political parties — Nidaa Tounes and Ennahdha — has contributed to the Tunisian public’s growing dissatisfaction with formal politics, which has potentially dangerous consequences for the country’s democratic transition.
This month, the Syrian Civil War will have lasted seven years. The authors of this brief explore how the United States — first under President Barack Obama and now under President Donald Trump — has struggled to develop a coherent strategy that balances U.S. interests in the conflict with the military, financial and diplomatic resources necessary to pursue them.