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

mantra sparked the Kasbah sit-ins rejecting the government and calling for the turning
over of a new leaf—the writing of a new constitution.
The Broken Social Contract
Following independence from the French, Tunisia focused on investment in education.
Former President Habib Bourguiba saw education as the best way to improve the quality
of life for Tunisians, coupled with economic liberalization. 3 These were the tenants of
the social contract in his view. Former President Ben Ali adopted these same goals in
public, but as Tunisians know, his actual commitment to education and economic
prosperity for citizens was less than genuine.
The Tunisian policy of free education to all citizens became a liability, as the
influx of high school students into universities yielded graduates in numbers outweighing
their demand. In 1994 the percentage of Tunisians with university degrees was 3.8%,
rising to 23.3% in 2010 (SAIS Group Meeting with a former Ben Ali Minister, 25
January 2012). In a country which formerly produced highly demanded skilled
professionals exported world-wide, the educational system became a burden.
Additionally, because university schooling was reduced from four years to three, most
Tunisian diplomas were not recognized by many international schools, limiting their
opportunities for further education and advancement (Personal Interview with Siwar
Aouadi, 28 January 2012). According to this former government official, of 18%
officially unemployed Tunisians, 33% are university graduates.
Business suffered as well, as entrepreneurial activities were limited by a web of
complex pay offs to the Ben Ali family and seizing of company ownership. The extent of
the economic despair and lack of opportunity was pervasive, but the effects were
exacerbated in the interior region of the country, which was consistently cramped by a
lack of infrastructure and underdevelopment. In a country where 90% of citizens living
on the coast own ovens compared to 18% of those in the interior, as a former government
official notes, it is as if there are two Tunisias: one rich and one poor. Very little was
3 “Reflections on Bouazizi and Tunisia’s Social Contract.” Web log post. Kefteji, A Delicious Mix
of Tunisian Politics, Media and Culture. Word Press, 16 December 2011. Accessed 28 January
2012.
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