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

accounted for the majority of the force, varying accounts estimate the size of domestic
security forces at between 120,000 and 200,000 prior to the revolution—one of the
highest police-to-civilian ratios in the world. 37 No accurate estimates are presently
available to account for the dissolution of the political police, but the number should be
significantly less.
The political police, officially the State Security Department, deserve special
attention for its uncommon character and function, akin to the Iranian SAVAK or
Russian FSB. The most controversial and nebulous of the three entities, the political
police force was, until its dissolution, fundamental to the oppressive power of the ruling
regime, and thus one of the primary reasons for its longevity. The force was created
under Bourguiba in the 1960s to address the inability of the regular police to perform
intelligence and surveillance operations necessary to the protection of the regime at a
time of heightened political threat. From that time, the political police grew in number
and scope and continued to flourish under Ben Ali after his ascension to power.
All three elements fall under the administration of the Ministry of the Interior,
which is nominally responsible for internal affairs, including all matters pertaining to
internal security and “local development.” It is currently headed by Ali Larayedh, who
replaced Habib Essid on 24 December 2011. Essid was, himself, only Minister since
March of that year—one of several names shuffled into and out of the post in the months
immediately prior to and following the revolution. The volatility of the position is
indicative of its highly political nature, exercising control over the entirety of the internal
security forces; Ben Ali himself held the position prior to his ascent to the presidency.
Since the revolution, the leadership of the Ministry of the Interior and its subcomponents,
like most other government bodies, has undergone significant reshuffling,
but the current tumult of political affairs has made it difficult to establish with more
precision the identities of those currently involved.
37 Yezid Sayigh. “Agencies of Coercion” cites 120,000, while Alexis Arieff speculates 200,000,
but both concede the exact number is unknown.
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