A MILITARY BESIEGED: THE ARMED FORCES, THE POLICE, AND THE PARTY IN BIN ʿALI'S TUNISIA, 1987–2011. (9th February 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Nassif, Hicham Bou
• Is Part Of: International journal of Middle East studies. Volume 47:Number 1(2015:Feb.)
• Page Start: 65
• Page End: 87
• Publication Date: 2015-02-09
• Subjects: Middle East -- Periodicals; 915.603305
• DOI: 10.1017/S0020743814001457
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0020-7438

Abstract

Abstract: This article draws on extensive fieldwork and original data to trace the transformation of civil–military relations in Tunisia during the tenure of the former president Zayn al-ʿAbidin bin ʿAli (1987–2011). The republican ethos of the Tunisian Armed Forces (al-Quwwat al-Musallaha al-Tunusiyya) is often stressed to explain its traditional political quiescence. However, I maintain that it was the active hostility of the military's rivals within the Bin ʿAli regime that prevented Tunisian generals from playing a greater role in their country's public life. I disaggregate Bin ʿAli's regime into its fundamental institutional components—namely, the presidency, the party, the police, and the military—and investigate rivalries and alliances that structured the struggle for influence and power between Bin ʿAli's rise to the presidency and his downfall. I argue that there is a direct and causal relationship between the 2010–11 uprising and inter- and intrainstitutional dynamics within the regime. In other words, the study of contemporary Tunisian civil–military relations is critical to understanding the breakdown of the Bin ʿAli regime.