Tunisian youth: catalyst for socio-political change and emergence of identity politics in post-Arab Spring Tunisia

Abstract

ABSTRACT Tunisian youths form a significant constituent of Tunisian society demographically, politically, and socio-culturally. The hardship imposed on Tunisia by the neoliberal model in the 1980s, corruption and the government’s lack of economic vision has undermined the country’s economic status in recent years. However, youth’s role as drivers of change in political and socio-cultural terms has received little attention. Based on a fieldwork study in 2014 and a 2020 online survey, this paper analyses the Tunisian youth’s constituency and the extent of their political engagement and active citizenship and discusses their role in changing Tunisia’s socio-cultural landscape through their acquisition of a ‘glocal’ culture. Methodologically, the findings of the paper are drawn from primary data represented in the fieldwork research trips of 2014, and from various sources such as the World Bank and the Tunisian Electoral Commission. The research questions of this paper are threefold: first, how have Tunisian youths reacted to the Arab Spring? Second, what socio-political and economic factors have contributed to the marginalization of youth in Tunisia? Third, how can the political disengagement of youth inform an understanding of their character and Tunisia’s future direction?