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

Political actors in Tunisia have expressed concerns that the current government is
not doing more to establish itself as a stable and functioning system that warrants
assistance from the U.S. Professor Arfaoui, president of the Tunisian Association of
Democratic Women, expressed her concerns that Ennahdha party’s acceptance of funds
from Qatar and other undisclosed foreign benefactors was feeding U.S. uncertainties over
Ennahdha’s foreign commitments (SAIS Group Meeting, 23 January 2012).
Islamophobia since 9/11, heightened by Western media and other sources, plays a
significant role in inhibiting U.S. assistance to Muslim countries (Powell 2011). The
populace also sees the inability of the government to create stability and security as a
reason for the significant reduction in tourism in the country. This situation scares
Western tourists, who have historically contributed a large portion to the country’s gross
domestic product.
Tunisia successfully held its first free democratic election in October 2011, but
the government will need to build on this occasion with the development of sustainable
democratic institutions in order to further attract American investment. To create a
successful and attractive democratic system, Tunisia will need assistance from foreign
government officials who have extensive experience in democracy. Ms. Arfaoui also
expressed concern that, because people who previously pushed for democracy were
jailed, the country has not been able to acquire the necessary set of skills required to
manage the democratic process. Government officials have publicly tried to demonstrate
that they are successfully transitioning to a democracy by making public the sessions of
the Constitutional Assembly. If the Constituent Assembly is able to create an agreed upon
constitution in a timely manner, the government will strengthen its image as a successful
democratic transition and attract investment from like-minded countries, including the
U.S.
Tunisia’s Efforts to Attract U.S. Assistance
The Tunisian government is working to educate the U.S. on its politics and economy to
foster support for assistance in the country. The Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has
sent businessmen to the U.S. to explain their economic system to investors. Concerns of
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