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

Two Tunisias: How A Revolution Which Brought The Country
Together Also Highlighted A Deep Divide
Jennifer Pogue-Geile
When Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire in a desperate act of frustration and
anguish on 17 December 2010, he sparked off a string of protests which spread
throughout Tunisia, eventually culminating in the resignation of the country’s 23-year
leader. The month-long Jasmine Revolution brought together Tunisians from across the
society. Members of different ages, genders, social classes, and regions, all participated
in the large-scale protests to air their grievances against the regime. They marched for
liberty, economic opportunity, and personal dignity.
To this day, a year later, Tunisians across the society are extremely proud of their
revolution and gush about their role in the Arab Spring. However, the revolution and
subsequent elections for a Constituent Assembly in some ways highlighted the stark
differences between the coastal region and the interior of the country. Probably the most
glaring divide at the time of the revolution was the regional economic differences;
however, since the election, it’s becoming clear that there also important emerging sociopolitical
differences between the regions when it comes down to issues of identity and
views on the role of religion in society. There also seem to be different levels of
optimism for the future between the coastal areas and the interior, which are partially
reflected in voter turnout numbers. The following chapter will describe the sharp
economic divide between the coast and the interior, analyze political differences between
the regions that rose to the surface during the elections, and offer recommendations that
could help lessen the economic and political divide between coastal Tunisia and the
interior.
The Revolution and Regional Economic Inequality
One of the main complaints during the revolution was the extreme arrogance of President
Ben Ali, his family, and his government. According to a former government official, the
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