This list of Keywords and phrases will allow you to hone your search for materials on Tunisia during the Arab Spring
Tunisia’s current political transition began with widespread street protests in 2010, a reaction to high unemployment, government corruption, widespread poverty, and high food prices. By January 2011, the protests escalated to deadly rioting. The Tunisian government of the time was dismissed by then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who fled the country shortly after. After his departure, a national unity government was formed. The national unity government, led by interim president Moncef Marzouki, successfully navigated Tunisia to its first free elections since 2011, in late 2014. Tunisia recently held a second free election in late 2019, electing President Kais Saied.
Good Resources for Getting Started
BBC Profile: Ennahda Party
Free Tunisia Archives (website currently down)
DVD
Tunisian Women: We Will Stand Up
"On December 18, 2010 Tunisians of all ages took the streets of Tunis to demand better living conditions and the end of President Ben Ali's repressive dictatorship, starting what would become the 2011 Tunisian Revolution and the Arab Spring. Among the demonstrators were seven Tunisian women activists, each one of these women celebrating the culmination of a life devoted to the fight for freedom and democracy in their country."
Call Number: DVD HQ1792 .T865 2013
Tunisian Revolution -- Arabic Documentary
Dar al Kutub Al Wataniya (website currently down)
Centre d'etudes Maghrebines A Tunis (CEMAT)
Centre National Universitaire de Documentation Scientifique et Technique
Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Economiques et Sociales
Faculté des Sciences Humaines et Sociales de Tunis (website currently down)
National Heritage Institute (website currently down)
Election Management Bodies in Transitioning Democracies: Tunisia and Egypt
Owens Hubler, Katharina. University of Colorado at Denver, ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing, 2012. 1516610.
One Hand: Military Structure and Middle East Revolts
Burns, Sean. Northwestern University, ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing, 2013. 3595563.
Religion and the evolution of democracy: A revised Selectorate Model for the Arab Spring
Bagherpour, Amir. The Claremont Graduate University, ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing, 2012. 3512471.
When authoritarianism failed in Tunisia: An investigation of the Ben Ali regime and the factors that led to its downfall
Logan, Tyler Pentland. Georgetown University, ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing, 2012. 1509119.
When do revolutions lead to democracy? The conflict between democracy and governance in Georgia and Tunisia
McCrain, Josh. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing, 2013. 1538127.
The revolution will be framed: how organizers and participants used communication media during the Arab Spring revolution in Tunisia
Bluhm, Michael. Arizona State University, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2018. 10981527.
The Tunisian revolution as a catalyst to the Arab Spring: A case study of revolution in North Africa and the Middle East
Merrick, Dylan E. University of Nevada, Reno, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing 2018. 10932439.
