Three reasons to be (a little) cheerful about the state of the world last year.
Why 2014 Wasn’t So Terrible
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tunisia elections
A Country Skating on Thin Ice, Tunisia Chooses a New President
Little has been done to address the economic crisis in Tunisia other than to accept foreign loans with their usual austerity strings attached.
Tunisia’s Unfinished Revolution
Religious tensions, remnants of the police state, and a broken-down neoliberal economic model imperil Tunisia’s otherwise impressive democratic transition.
The Amilcar Notes (Part 5):Election Exhilaration in Tunisia
Those who took to the streets in Tunisia and faced down fear are not those elected to the Constituent Assembly.
Arab Islamists Are Here to Stay
The hysteria of the West about the Arab awakening turning into an Arab Islamist nightmare is reaching full-blown proportions. The United States and Israel, self-appointed referees of democracy in the region despite their long-running support for the Middle East’s most corrupt and authoritarian regimes, are crying foul.
The incitement? A series of victories by Islamist parties in Tunisia, Morocco, and Egypt. Yet, given the history of Western support for governments that simultaneously quashed secular opposition movements and persecuted Islamists, the popularity of moderate Islamist parties should come as little surprise—nor should it be cause for concern.
The Amilcar Notes (Part 1): Zine Ben Ali’s Sorry Legacy
The victory that the Ennahdha party won in Tunisia’s recent elections was, for many Tunisians, a result of a sympathy vote for the target of President Ben Ali’s most vicious repression.
Tunisia Elections: The Real Thing This Time
Six years and one national rebellion after the fraudulent 2005 election, Tunisia has just completed the first truly democratic election in its history. It was also the first election of the Arab Spring. The election was held to create a legislative body that will govern the country while it writes a new constitution.
The results were astonishing.