Battlefields of the Republic - the struggle for public space in Tunisia

Main author: Tripp, Charles
Format: Monographs and Working Papers           
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id eprints-21670
recordtype eprints
institution SOAS, University of London
collection SOAS Research Online
language English
language_search English
description This paper argues that the Tunisian revolutionary moment of 2011 and its aftermath have opened up spaces that are capable of providing a framework for the agonistic politics associated with democratic possibility. Insurgent public space, an emerging plural public, as well as adversarial contests over the constitution of the republic display features that may help to build ‘conflictual consensus’ as part of a democratic future. These possibilities are constantly being re-enacted by Tunisians whose disagreements are real enough, but whose struggles are also establishing the boundaries of an emerging political field, loosely thought of as the ‘Tunisian Republic’. This is a bold and challenging undertaking, with potentially revolutionary implications, but it is also a precarious enterprise, given the forces that may yet threaten to encroach on public space and on the rights of the citizen.
format Monographs and Working Papers
author Tripp, Charles
author_facet Tripp, Charles
authorStr Tripp, Charles
author_letter Tripp, Charles
title Battlefields of the Republic - the struggle for public space in Tunisia
publisher LSE Middle East Centre
publishDate 2014
url https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/21670/