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Includes Bibliographical References of Part IV (pp. 387-394) ; The most important lesson learned from the Arab Spring is the bankruptcy of the idea of authoritarian modernisation in the Arab world. Tunisami confirmed that in the long term, the stability of the Southern Neighborhood depends on simultaneous democratisation and modernisation of this region. The EU and Turkey are two players for whom an outcome of these processes has an enormous importance. At the same time, both sides, as external stake holders in the region, possess a huge potential to influence the course of events either positively or negatively. ; peer-reviewed

« This book argues that the Arab Spring brought to the forefront numerous societal, political, and historical problems in the Middle East that scholars and practitioners throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century have continually glossed over or reduced in their analysis and analytical frameworks when studying the Middle East. These include the prevalent and persistent impact of Islam on political life, an impact of transnational and subnational identities, including sect, tribe, and regional identity, as well as the overuse of the state as the fundamental unit of analysis when studying the region. As a result, this book asserts that primordial identities including religion, sect, and tribe have, and will continue to have, a significant impact on the conduct of politics in the Middle East. « (Verlagsbeschreibung)

AbstractThis study asks a simple question: Has there been any upgrading in the status of women in Tunisia in the years following the Jasmine Revolution of December 2010? Based upon a comparative analysis of the Tunisian constitutions of 1959 and 2014, this paper argues that Tunisian women have, in fact, experienced a real change in their status within Tunisian society. Through a combination of their strong collective identity and a self‐initiated process of political opportunity, the popular protest in Tunisia led to legislative changes which were supported by the long history of women's presence in the Tunisian social‐public sphere, together with helpful secular‐oriented political forces. The new constitution of 2014 took steps to attain real gender equality in Tunisia; several Tunisian laws have been changed in favor of women since 2014 as well. The implementation of gender equality has, however, still been too slow and faces obstacles, mainly from Islamist groups — including Salafis who have been exerting pressure to impose a religious character on Tunisian society based upon the Shari'a.

Defence date: 8 May 2017 ; Examining Board: Professor Hanspeter Kriesi, European University Institute (Supervisor); Professor Olivier Roy, European University Institute; Professor Fiona B. Adamson, SOAS University of London; Professor Alexandra Segerberg, Stockholm University ; The spread of the internet and migration are key dimensions associated with globalization and range among the most salient challenges of our times. Looking at the intersection of these two phenomena, this dissertation explores how the internet enables citizens of non-democracies living abroad to partake in the political discourse and online campaigns in their home countries. How does the fact of living in non-authoritarian countries affect the migrant's position inside their online community? Using concepts from the contentious politics literature, I examine why migrant netizens adopt different roles in online campaigns in the years leading to and during the Arab uprisings at the examples of Tunisia and Morocco. I draw upon multiple empirical strategies including an analysis of web crawls of the Tunisian and Moroccan blogospheres, in-depth interviews with a number of key actors and frame analysis. I find that migrants were among the pioneers of political blogging, are well-integrated in their respective blogosphere and often occupy central positions. Political opportunity structures matter, thus the relative absence of repression allows migrants to act as radical mobilizers in highly repressive regimes like Tunisia. In contrast to that, migrant netizens in slightly more liberal settings like Morocco are less of a driving force than an equal partner in online discussions and campaigns, even if they might provide additional resources and establish contacts with international actors. Finally, the frame analysis reveals that radical migrant bloggers are likely to suffer from a lack of credibility due to their relative immunity to repression, unless they adapt their frames to the concerns of the wider blogger community, thereby enabling the creation of a broad coalition.

The argument advanced in this article is that EU policies helped to trigger the so-called Arab Spring, not by intention but by default. This contention is advanced through an examination of four strands of EU policy towards those countries designated as Mediterranean Partner Countries (MPCs) under the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership Programme (EMP) and the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), namely: trade and economic development, political reform, the 'peace process', and regional security (including migration control). What emerges is that the EU has not just departed from its own normative principles and aspirations for Arab reform in some instances, but that the EU has consistently prioritized European security interests over 'shared prosperity' and democracy promotion in the Mediterranean. The net result is a set of structured, institutionalized and securitized relationships which will be difficult to reconfigure and will not help Arab reformers attain their goals. (International Affairs (Oxford) / SWP)