In his speech yesterday David Cameron set out his thoughts on Isil in a manner that many would agree with. He explained that the ‘threat is Islamist extremist terrorism – and it has found a new, hellish crucible – with Isil, in Iraq and Syria. These people are evil, pure and simple. They kill children; rape women; threaten non-believers with genocide; behead journalists and aid workers’. Parliament has spoken, with its comprehensive 524 to 43 vote in favour of Britain’s fight against Isil in Iraq. Yet while this fight is most visible in the Tornadoes that now prowl over Isil-controlled territory or in the financial and military support to the Iraqi and Kurdish boots on the ground, there is also the need for wider regional diplomatic engagement and Tunisia is a prime example of such an opportunity.
Tunisia, a small north African Arab country of some 11 million people sandwiched between restive Algeria and increasingly chaotic Libya, was perhaps the only sustainable success story to come from the Arab Spring. After the turmoil of its revolution, Tunisia boasts that it now has ‘stronger democratic institutions, a stable economy and decreasing unemployment’. The country’s leadership also claim that their constitution is now the most ‘liberal and progressive in the region’ and ‘free and fair parliamentary elections’ are scheduled for later this month.
Last week I sat down with Dr Rafik Abdessalem, the former Tunisian foreign minister who now heads up external communications for the Nahdha party, whose name is Arabic for ‘renaissance’ and which was a senior coalition partner in the first democratically elected government. Tunis is only an hour’s flight from Rome yet the stability and security of Europe is in stark contrast to that of the Middle East and north Africa. Before the revolution Tunisia had ranked among the lowest countries in terms of respect for human rights and civil liberties. Today Dr Abdessalem spoke of how after 23 years of Ben Ali rule the country was still looking to find its feet against a context of increasingly chaotic regional security. While the west remains focused on Isil in Iraq and Syria, Tunisia looks nervously at the worsening situation in Libya.
Dr Abdessalem was in the United Kingdom as an envoy seeking British and European support for Tunisia at what he believes is a critical moment in the country’s history. While the Arab Spring led to revolution and counter-revolution in Egypt it was in Syria that spring rapidly became a bloody winter with estimates of some 200,000 people killed to date. By contrast the Tunisians aspire for theirs to be a model for the region. The drafting of a progressive constitution is parallelled by the fact that 31 per cent of Tunisia’s assembly members are women. Tunisia is not simply a test case for the emergence of a successful Arab democracy from a period of dictatorship and then revolution but also for the more controversial question concerning the rise of moderate inclusive governments that can counter the gathering appeal of Isil extremists.
As Libya continues to be wracked by political uncertainty the need to control the flow of arms and fighters is clearly an issue of joint Tunisian and European concern. Dr Abdessalem spoke of the challenge of the ‘delicate balance between freedom and security’ and how he did not want his country to be viewed in Europe as a ‘charity case’ but rather as an effective partner against terrorism. Tunisia is a foreign policy player which is active within both the Arab League and the African Union and it is also is part of regional cooperation on intelligence with the Europeans. More than 80 per cent of Tunisia’s trade is with the European Union and the country’s economy remains a central challenge for a post-revolutionary government faced with huge expectations from a public that are hyperventilating on the political oxygen their new found freedoms offer. The economy collapsed in the aftermath of the revolution, contracting by 1.8 per cent. Real partnership is needed but an austerity-wracked Europe still appears hesitant about reaching out and investing in real partnerships with Tunisia’s emerging markets.
In regards to the upcoming elections Tunisia has called for them to be ‘free, fair and peaceful’ and has welcomed the sending of election monitors to ensure exactly that. Dr Abdessalem rejected a model of ‘ideological states’ such as the Islamic Republic of Iran and suggested that ‘investing in Tunisia’s democracy would be the antithesis for Isil.’ The former foreign minister made the case for increasing British support to his country as a part of the battle for hearts and minds that is intrinsic in the battle against Isil – as he describes it Tunisian moderation is an ‘antidote to radicalisation’. Elections this month are also a threat for the fledgling democracy – as Dr Abdessalem warned, a ‘successful democracy in Tunisia is a threat to other states in the region’.
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James Denselow is a foreign policy specialist at the Foreign Policy Centre. He tweets @JamesDenselow
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