Tunisia
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Refugees in Libya
An unlikely safe haven
Migrants and refugees from Africa and beyond find shelter in a former major smuggling route to Italy. Zuwara, once a muster point for those seeking to jump on a raft to Europe, is now proving a haven for those fleeing conflict and instability in other countries. By Karlos Zurutuza
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The West and the Islamic world
The despotic temptation
Unable to contain the violence, suffering, and chaos engulfing the Middle East and North Africa, Western leaders are falling back into the Cold War trap. All they want is for someone – and now virtually anyone – to enforce order. By Ana Palacio
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Post-Arabellion reform deadlock
The logic of power
The Arab world is locked into a huge cycle of violence. At the same time, reformers are isolated - both within the regimes and outside them. Those who advocate violence, on the other hand, sense momentum and are growing in number. And they are convinced that the future will be a violent one. An essay by the Kuwaiti political scientist Shafeeq Ghabra
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Political rule before and after the ″Arabellion″
Internal colonialism and counter-revolution
When an elite ruling class controls state institutions and resources and uses them for its own benefit, this can be called ″internal colonialism″. Such systems exist in their worst form in the Arab world. The Syrian author Louay Safi believes, however, that all signs indicate that the Arab peoples will rid themselves of this colonialism and that the repressive military regimes will be smothered by their own crimes and corruption
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Planned ″business amnesty legislation″ in Tunisia
Tunisia: sweeping history under the carpet rather than confronting the past?
A proposed law designed to provide amnesty for corrupt businessmen is causing uproar in Tunisia. Opponents accuse the government of subverting the reappraisal of the country's dictatorial past. Details supplied by Sarah Mersch in Tunis
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Tunisia after the terror attacks
A battle for freedom and dignity
In the wake of the attacks on Sousse and the Bardo Museum, Tunisia has to stand up to those who oppose the nation's democratic development. The best way to counter the feelings that draw young people to extremism, writes Rachid Ghannouchi, chairman of the Ennahda Party, is to ensure participation, fair economic growth, and security without restricting the country's hard-won freedoms
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New anti-terrorism law in Tunisia
Law triggers hope and concern
Tunisia has adopted a new anti-terror law in a bid to rein in the country's security problems. But critics say the legislation is inadequate and that it could potentially spell a return to authoritarian structures. By Sarah Mersch in Tunisia
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Interview with the Tunisian poet Najet Adouani
"Nothing can stop me from spreading my wings"
In Tunisia, the poet Najet Adouani is regarded as a courageous fighter for both the free word and women's rights. Born in the south of the country in 1956, her most powerful weapons are the beauty of language and the poetry of her images. However, when it became clear that she was a Salafist target, she had to leave Tunisia at short notice. Adouani is currently living in Berlin, where Claudia Kramatschek met her
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Interview with director Gini Reticker
"These women do not need to be saved, they need to be heard"
A new project highlighting women in the MENA region and their struggle during and after the Arab Spring goes against the usual Western image of the docile, oppressed Arab woman. Instead, "The Trials of Spring" shows women in the region as they are: strong, active, committed participants and well-informed activists. The project features six short films about Arab women. Joseph Mayton spoke to Academy Award-nominated producer Gini Reticker about the project
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After the upheaval in the Arab world
Escalating wars
The violence unleashed in Arab countries in the last four years may turn out to be just a first taste of what is to come. Escalating brutality and the actions of governments have put Arab citizens under immense pressure. Without a change of course, the outcome could easily be further conflict and a new wave of uprisings – this time not peaceful. By Maha Yahya
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After the Sousse attack
United against terror
Following the attack on a beach hotel near Sousse, which claimed the lives of 38 and injured 39 others, many Tunisians took to the streets to demonstrate against Islamist terror in their country and call for a tightening of security laws. Report from Sousse by Karim El-Gawhary
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Interview with Alaya Allani, an expert on Islamism
"The jihadists have no social base in Libya"
Alaya Allani, professor of contemporary history at the Monouba University in Tunis and a specialist on Islamist movements, does not expect that the IS terrorist militia will be able to establish itself in Libya over the long-term, although the jihadists have already successfully formed cells in some regions of the country. Beat Stauffer spoke to him in Tunis