Tunisian Revolution
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Interview with the human rights activist Sihem Bensedrine
Tunisia's democratic awakening under threat
The well-known Tunisian human rights activist Sihem Bensedrine talks to Moncef Slimi about the arduous process of democratic transformation in the motherland of the Arab Spring
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Victims of the Tunisian Revolution
The slow and painful search for the truth
Three years have passed since Tunisians took to the streets in protest against their ruler, Ben Ali. The country is now slowly moving towards democracy, but the victims of those early revolutionary days are still waiting for justice. Hopes that the truth will come to light and that relatives will discover who killed and injured their loved ones during the unrest are diminishing by the day. By Sarah Mersch
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Social media and the Arab Spring in Tunisia
Not as soft as jasmine
Social media did not topple Tunisia's dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, but they certainly played an important role. According to the Tunisian blogger Aya Chebbi, cyber activism is now an important tool for democratisation in this North African country
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The political consequences of the Arab Spring
Some revolts just take longer
Civil war in Syria, a military regime in Egypt ... at first glance, it seems as if the Arab Spring has gone off the rails. But the battle is not over yet: 2014 will be a decisive year for change in the Arab world. An essay by Karim El-Gawhary
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Three years after the Arab uprisings
Tyranny has gone unpunished
The revolutions that swept across the Arab world in 2011 could have failed for any number of reasons. However, the fact that their consequences now threaten to drag entire nations into chaos and rehabilitate tyrannous rulers three years after they were unceremoniously ousted is almost worse than if there had been no uprisings in the first place. By Günther Orth
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Interview with Hélé Béji
"Ennahda has an unbelievable capacity to adjust"
Hélé Béji is an independent Tunisian writer and literary scholar. She is related to Habib Bourguiba, the founder of the Tunisian republic and its first president, and is part of a rather progressive intellectual scene. Béji has been watching the Islamists closely since they took power two years ago and is one of the few people who considers Ennahda capable of learning and becoming a major democratic people's party. Christina Omlin spoke to her about recent developments in Tunisia
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Tunisia three years after the Jasmine Revolution
Learning how to deal with freedom
Three years after the overthrow of President Ben Ali, Tunisians are still waiting for their new constitution. Quite a few empty promises have been made since 2011, but there has also been some progress. By Ute Schaeffer in Tunis
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Tunisia and the European Union
Last chance
The Arab Spring seems to be over, but democracy could yet prevail in Tunisia. The EU should promise privileged trade relations on the condition that the country does not return to authoritarian rule. By Markus Loewe
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Ez-Zitouna University
Helping to shape Tunisia's religious future
After decades of secular state leadership, many Tunisians would like Islam to play a greater role in the social and political life of their country. Some feel that Islamic scholars at Ez-Zitouna University could take on the role of mediator in this process. Reporting from Tunis, Carolyn Wißing has the details
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Essay by Dani Rodrik
The Problem is Authoritarianism, Not Islam
Is Islam fundamentally incompatible with democracy? Time and again events compel us to ask this question. And yet it is a question that obscures more than it illuminates. An essay by Dani Rodrik
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Interview with Nacer Khemir
Islam as a Culture of Reconciliation
Tunisian film-maker and visual artist Nacer Khemir criticises the cultural inertia, which he feels was caused by decades of dictatorship, and the growing religious fervour gripping his country. He spoke to Christina Omlin
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The Arab Spring in Historical Perspective
Revolutions Take Time
Analysts have gleefully declared the Arab Spring to have failed. What they don't understand however, is that fundamental societal changes don't occur over night. In her essay, Ingrid Thurner pleads for more time for the Arab Spring