Tunisia: Understanding Conflict 2012 - Johns Hopkins School of ...

There remain, however, many reasons to be optimistic about the eventual success
of the transitional process in Tunisia. One of the most significant changes that Tunisia,
and other parts of the Arab World, has undergone since the uprisings began is that the
public is now alert and has shown itself willing to express itself forcefully if necessary. A
developing civil society that is finding new and creative ways to engage people is also
contributing positively to this. Tunisia’s strong and neutral administration also deserves a
lot of the credit for maintaining a certain level of continuity and stability and will
continue to play an important role as the NCA continues with its task.
Conclusion
Although most average Tunisians are more concerned with progress on substantive issues
such as unemployment and social welfare, the importance of the constitution-drafting
process cannot be neglected. This is because the institutions that it creates will determine
what is legitimate in Tunisia’s new developing social contract between its citizens and
the state. Without this, the rule of law, stability and prosperity will not be able to take
hold during the continued transitional period. Without some sense of national unity on the
bigger issues, the government will not be able to work properly on the key social and
economic issues that have the potential to derail steps towards stable democracy. As has
been highlighted in the literature, there are a number of trade-offs that need to be taken
into consideration during the drafting process which will affect the legitimacy of both the
process itself and the resulting document. While the discussion of this chapter has shown
that these trade-offs are at play in the Tunisian case, creating a number of vulnerabilities,
there are also reasons for being optimistic. The revolution for ‘liberty and dignity’ has
had an enormous social impact in Tunisia that has empowered the Tunisian population in
a way unseen before. It is this new confidence in their ability to articulate and promote
their demands that has given the Tunisian people continued optimism in this uncertain
transitional period.
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