By Tajha Chappellet-Lanier
Staff Writer
It was in Tunisia in January 2011 where the widespread pr
otest movements now known collectively as the Arab Spring began. On January 26th , 2014, a date marking almost exactly the three-year anniversary of the ousting of autocratic president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia’s National Constituent Assembly passed a celebrated new constitution.
A product of two years of hard work and compromise, the new constitution ensures such rights as freedom of religion, protection from torture, due process, and gender equality.
However, the road to this point has not been completely smooth. While Tunisia is perhaps the most secular country in the Middle East, the constitutional negotiations have been full of disagreement over the role of Islam in the ‘new’ Tunisia. These tensions have notably occurred between the moderate Islamist party Ennahda, which won around 40% of the seats in the Assembly in the October 2011 elections, and other minority parties from both sides. The Ennahda party came under pressure from Tunisia’s historically secular elite to ease religious rhetoric, right as the parties from the religious right criticized the party for failing to uphold Islamic values. In January, when political deadlock seemed likely to quash the negotiations, the Ennahda party stepped down from government. A technocratic transitional government is set to run Tunisia until the promised elections take place later this year.
Despite the challenges, or perhaps because of them, the new constitution showcases the virtues of patient negotiation. It has been called both a “historic compromise between identity and modernity” by constitutional scholar Slim Loghmani, and a “milestone” by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. The document is acclaimed as a definitive step towards the consolidation of a modern democratic state in Tunisia.
Others praise the historic document for what it will bring to the wider region—giving a much-needed boost of life to Arab Spring ideals. Additionally, according to Larbi Sadiki, an expert on the Arab Spring, the latest developments in Tunisia will certainly have repercussions in Egypt. In fact, many parallels are drawn between Tunisia as the founder and Egypt as the theater of the Arab Spring, focusing, in light of their historic ties, on the recent divergence of paths of the Ennahda party from the Muslim Brotherhood party. Hopeful commentators praise the Ennahda’s willingness to negotiate and eventually step down as being a promising antithesis to the actions taken by the Muslim Brotherhood last year. Such commentators believe that the Ennahda has grasped the central lesson of the Brotherhood’s failure—compromise is an essential part of the road towards the consolidation of democracy. They hope, in turn, that the Ennahda’s actions will serve as a model for the future choices of similar groups.
For Tunisia, only time will tell whether this new constitution is indeed such a decisive event in the country’s democratic history. There are certainly more steps to be taken ahead—smooth results of the promised election later this year, for example, will be crucial. Moreover, as with any constitution, there is worry over how difficult or even contradictory passages will be interpreted. Still, for the birthplace of the Arab Spring, the signing of a democratic constitution is an important stride forward.
Tajha Chappellet-Lanier, class of 2014, is a Politics and Law major from Big Sur, California, United States.
