Since 2011, it has become increasingly apparent that to achieve long-term stabilization and democratic consolidation, Tunisia needs to rethink its geostrategic positioning and to explore new opportunities with international partners. It is all the more important that political elites find answers to different situations and constraints. These include: the negotiation of a future strategic partnership with the EU; pressure from the private sector and economic elites who are attempting to explore potentially promising markets in sub-Saharan Africa; the exacerbation of regional conflicts and rivalries in North Africa; and challenges relating to Libya’s stabilisation and reconstruction.

However, despite the success to preserve the precarious democratic experiment, Tunisia seems to be ill-equipped to deal with these diverse situations. Focusing on Tunisia and broadly on the Maghreb, this workshop’s aim is two-fold: to explore the risks and opportunities associated with these developments; and to understand the impact of the rapidly changing geo-economic and geopolitical situation on the future of this region, and the consolidation of Tunisia’s nascent democracy.

Organiser:

Hamza Meddeb, EUI – RSCAS

Programme