Transitional Justice In Tunisia

This book engages comprehensively with the dynamics of the transitional justice process in Tunisia and its mechanisms, elaborating lessons for transitional justice practice globally. Grounded in new empirical material as well as a broader awareness of transitional justice, this book provides a thorough assessment of transitional justice in Tunisia. Beyond an overview of the process, it critically engages with key questions such as the extent to which the process articulated global contemporary practice, such as liberal state-building and narrow conceptions of justice as civil-political rights, and to which it generated novel approaches at odds with the mainstream that can inform global practice. The book examines how the transitional justice process in Tunisia has been contextualised and made relevant to the nation’s circumstances and needs. It looks at innovation at the level of formal mechanisms and at the dynamics of mobilisation and contestation surrounding transitional justice both from civil society organisations and victims’ groups. Bringing together analysis from legal scholars, social scientists as well as activists and practitioners, the book challenges the legalism of transitional justice discourse globally, engendering a dialogue between these legal and judicial approaches on the one hand and alternative, more diverse and radical approaches to justice on the other, in order to both deal with the past and to address ongoing injustice. This first book in English to address the dynamics and mechanisms of the transitional justice process in Tunisia will appeal to students and scholars of transitional justice, human rights, peacebuilding, conflict and peace studies, development, and security studies, as well as policymakers and practitioners in these fields, and others with interests in Middle Eastern studies.

Transitional justice in process is the first book that comprehensively studies the Tunisian transitional justice process, covering its initiation, design, and performance. The book makes an essential contribution to literature on the domestic and international politics of transitional justice.

Domenica Preysing offers a critical reading of “transitional justice” that focuses on political dynamics in post-revolutionary Tunisia, from the ouster of president Ben Ali in January 2011 until the adoption of transitional justice bill in December 2013. She explores the role, structure and characteristics of evolving transitional justice policy discourse to provide a better understanding of how, by who, and to what effect the policy label “transitional justice” is progressively filled with meaning. She shows that conflicting interpretations of both the past and the present have been both deeply embedded in and an expression of the dynamic context of domestic political transformation, as old and new elites struggle over the political identity and direction of post-Ben Ali Tunisia.

Builds on micro-level critiques of transitional justice to debate a more comprehensive alternative at the level of theory and practice.

In Assessing the Impact of Transitional Justice, fourteen leading researchers study seventy countries that have suffered from autocratic rule, genocide, and protracted internal conflict.

Post-revolution states often find that once dictators have been deposed, other problems arise, such as political polarization and the threat of civil war. A respected commentator on Middle Eastern politics, Ibrahim Fraihat examines three countries grappling with political transitions in the wake of the Arab Spring: Yemen, Libya, and Tunisia. Drawing on extensive research and interviews, Fraihat argues that to attain enduring peace and stability, post-revolution states must engage in inclusive national reconciliation processes with the support of women, civil society, and tribes.

Dealing with the aftermath of civil conflict or the fall of a repressive government continues to trouble countries throughout the world. Whereas much of the 1990s was occupied with debates concerning the relative merits of criminal prosecutions and truth commissions, by the end of the decade a consensus emerged that this either/or approach was inappropriate and unnecessary. A second generation of transitional justice experiences have stressed both truth and justice and recognize that a single method may inadequately serve societies rebuilding after conflict or dictatorship. Based on studies in ten countries, this book analyzes how some combine multiple institutions, others experiment with community-level initiatives that draw on traditional law and culture, whilst others combine internal actions with transnational or international ones. The authors argue that transitional justice efforts must also consider the challenges to legitimacy and local ownership emerging after external military intervention or occupation.