Revolution and transition in Tunisia as crises of hegemony

Abstract

ABSTRACT Some Gramscian concepts proved to be relevant for a better and a worthwhile understanding of the current changes and of the political and social upheavals in Tunisia since winter 2010/2011. In particular, I will approach the ongoing political crisis as a crisis of hegemony. By emphasising the social and economic content in the hegemony of the Tunisian state, the article will focus on its construction during the Habib Bourguiba era, by showing how elites emerged after the independence, through their alliance with the workers’ union (UGTT), won the people’s support by working on two main issues: first, economic growth, second, social recovery thus fairly benefited different social classes, according to meritocracy. I will then look at how President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali tried to apply the same ‘hegemony formula’ and how despite his agreement with the trade unions, he nevertheless lost that hegemony due to two major evolutions during the 2000s: the transformation of Tunisian capitalism into a crony capitalism and the end of meritocracy. Eventually, the article will show that the current political and socio-economic crisis can be read as the consequence of the crisis of hegemony, since old and new elites have not yet succeeded in providing answers to the main social and economic questions raised by the 2011 Revolution.