Month

Archives: Tunisia

The Biggest threat to the Mideast isn’t ISIL, it’s bad, Corrupt Governance

By Marwan Muasher | (Project Syndicate) | - - WASHINGTON, DC – A recent survey of 100 Arab thought leaders conducted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace revealed a sweeping consensus…

Five years on, Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution continues from the ground up

By Adnan Saif | (The Conversation) | - - Tunisians are marking five years since the culmination of their “Jasmine Revolution”. Since its longtime authoritarian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was…

Tunisian Nobel Recognizes role of Labor Unions, the Left in Democratic Transition

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - How many American news reports about the Nobel Peace Prize given to the Tunisian Quartet that pushed the country toward democracy and compromise…

The 3000: Why have some Tunisians joined ISIL/Daesh in Syria?

by Youssef Cherif | (Middle East Center Blog, LSE Political Science) | - - Tunisia, regarded as the Arab ‘beacon of hope’ and the cliché of Arab secularism and liberalism, raises a…

It’s the Economy, Stupid!: Tunisia’s fight against Terrorism requires a jobs program for its Youth

By Alexander Martin | (The Conversation) | - - To anyone who has followed Tunisia’s journey since it became a democracy, the horrific events in Sousse were shocking, but not surprising. This…

Tunisians fight back

By Christine Petré | Your Middle East | - - In an interview with Swedish radio I was asked if there is any support for these radical Islamist ideals among people in…

Lone Wolves and Soft Targets: Or how our Press, Politicians are being Played by ISIL

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - I saw a lot of headlines on Friday trying to link violent attacks by radical Muslims in France, Tunisia and Kuwait, but I…

Women’s Voices Matter, especially in the Middle East

By Lauren Feeney | (Informed Comment) - - Before there were nine million Syrian refugees, civil wars in Yemen and Libya, mass death sentences being handed down in Egypt, there was a…

Tunisia needs Rights and Economic Development, not a ‘War on Terror’

By John Hursh | (Informed Comment) - On Wednesday afternoon, gunmen attacked the Bardo Museum in Tunis, killing at least 20 people. Many more people sustained serious injuries. The casualties included foreign…

Will Terrorist attack on Tunisia Museum-goers Test Gov’t’s Commitment to Rights?

Human Rights Watch | (Tunis) The despicable attack in the Bardo Museum in Tunis on March 18, 2015, killing at least 19 foreign tourists and Tunisians, will test efforts by the Tunisian authorities…

Tunisia: Nationalist Candidate’s claimed win in Presidential Poll Contested

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) -- The major political parties do fairly sophisticated exit polling in Tunisian elections now, and secular, nationalist warhorse Beji Caid Essebsi claimed a victory of some…

Concentrated Solar Plant in Tunisian Sahara aims to sell Clean Electricity to Europe

Reuters: "The TuNur project aims to generate clean energy from a giant solar plant in the Tunisian Sahara from where it will be connected to the European electricity grid via a dedicated…

Artificial Billionaires: Regimes’ Crony Capitalism Stifling Middle East

World Bank Across the Middle East and North Africa, countries are being forced to face up to a harsh reality—that, left as they are now, their economies won’t create anything like enough…

The Tunisian Achievement

By Juan Cole Fears that the historic vote on Sunday in Tunisia might be marred by violence committed by the country's tiny lunatic fringe were not borne out. The interim government of…

Give Democracy a Chance in the Middle East, include the Muslim Religious Parties

By Neil Thompson When many Westerners think of the Middle East today they tend to see a region gripped by religious and sectarian violence. What all the many conflicts have in common…

The Tunisian Exception

By L. Carl Brown What has made Tunisia's transition from authoritarian government, for all its ups and downs, more successful than those of its Arab neighbors? It will soon be four years…

Cole’s “The New Arabs” at Firedoglake Book Salon

By Juan Cole Firedoglake Book Salon on Juan Cole, The New Arabs: How the Millennial Generation is changing the Middle East See also this recent NYT review by Irshad Manji FDL Book…

Arab Youth and the Changing Middle East (HuffPo Cole Interview)

By Juan Cole Huffington Post Live Highlight: Juan Cole, "The New Arabs: How the Millennial Generation is Changing the Middle East" Related book: The New Arabs: How the Millennial Generation is Changing…

What the Arab Youth Movements have Wrought: Don’t Count them Out Yet

By Juan Cole via Tomdispatch.com Three and a half years ago, the world was riveted by the massive crowds of youths mobilizing in Cairo’s Tahrir Square to demand an end to Egypt’s…

July 1: Juan’s new Book, “The New Arabs” hits the Shelves

By Juan Cole For those of you who like "long reads," my new book will be out next Tuesday. For those of you intending to buy it, let me suggest that you…