The MERIP Podcast

The MERIP Podcast Episode Ten: Raouf Farrah

On the Sumud Convoy, the Gaza Flotilla, and North African Solidarity

James Ryan, Raouf Farrah • 1 min read

MER Article

Europe’s Prison Guard—How the EU Is Integrating Tunisia into Its Violent Anti-Migrant Cordon

The carceral logic behind EU migration policies in North Africa.

Fadil Aliriza • 12 min read

MER Article

Resisting Carceralism and Fighting for Freedom—A Roundtable

Four activists reflect on building a global anti-carceral movement.

Sahar Francis, Asim Qureshi, Kaouther Ferjani, Yara Sallam • 19 min read

Reporting from Tunis

In the aftermath of the 2011 revolution, Tunisian journalist Bassam Bounenni published an article on the dissident digital news site, Nawaat. In it, he criticized the media’s practices under fallen dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben ‘Ali (1987-2011). For the media to play a role in the new political order, he

Thomas Serres • 11 min read

Current Analysis

Remembering Jamila Debbech Ksiksi—An Interview with the Late Tunisian Lawmaker and Anti-Racist Activist

On migrant's rights and the legal struggle against racism in Tunisia.

Shreya Parikh • 11 min read

MER Article

The Maghreb’s Peripheral Centers in Permanent Crisis

Informal trade in the Maghreb's borderlands.

Max Gallien • 8 min read

Current Analysis

Whatever Happened to Dignity? The Politics of Citizenship in Post-Revolution Tunisia

Dignity was a principle demand of the 2011 revolution that overthrew Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia. Nadia Marzouki examines how that demand has informed the practices of youth and other marginalized groups as they mobilize for quotidian causes like clean streets. President Kais Saied’s recent p

Nadia Marzouki • 17 min read

Current Analysis

Populist Passions or Democratic Aspirations? Tunisia’s Liberal Democracy in Crisis

Tunisia's political system is in crisis after President Kais Saied concentrated power in his office in July 2021. Robert P. Parks and Tarek Kahlaoui delve into the reasons why so many citizens support his moves and explain why they have become so disenchanted with Tunisia's democratic system. The au

Robert P. Parks, Tarek Kahlaoui • 15 min read

Current Analysis

The Collapse of Tunisia’s Party System and the Rise of Kais Saied

Ten years after the Tunisian people overthrew the country's authoritarian ruler, their democracy is in crisis. On July 25, 2021, Tunisian President Kais Saied invoked Article 80, the emergency clause in the constitution, to sack the prime minister and freeze the activities of parliament. Nate Grubma

Nate Grubman, Aytuğ Şaşmaz • 13 min read

MER Article

The Limits of Confronting Racial Discrimination in Tunisia with Law 50

In 2018, Tunisia became the first country in the Middle East and North Africa to pass a law that criminalizes racial discrimination. In a society that has long denied the existence of racism, the law—popularly known as Loi 50 or Law 50—has been applauded by local activists and international human ri

Shreya Parikh • 11 min read

MER Article

The Politics of Commemorating the Abolition of Slavery in Post-Revolutionary Tunisia

In 2019, eight years after the Arab Spring uprisings, President Béji Caïd Essebsi declared that Tunisians would commemorate the abolition of slavery on January 23 each year. It was on this date in 1846 that the then-governor of Ottoman Tunisia, Ahmad Bey, signed a decree authorizing enslaved Black p

M’hamed Oualdi • 9 min read

MER Article

Tunisia’s Marginalized Redefine the Political

Marginalized populations in Tunisia, who have little access to economic and political resources, sparked the 2011 protests that ousted the Ben Ali regime. In the following ten years, marginalized people, especially in rural areas, have continued to push for more jobs, better services and social just

Sami Zemni • 11 min read