Counterterrorism in Transition

This volume offers a critical examination of how counterterrorism measures influence democratic processes, with a specific focus on the case study of post-2011 Tunisia. More concretely, it assesses the effects of counterterrorist discourses and practices on the democratic transition initiated after the Dignity Revolution of 2010-2011. Tunisia has been the only Arab country to experience a structured democratic transition after the Arab uprisings. However, the measures taken to counter the rise of salafi jihadism in the country strongly marked the transitional process. This research analyses the detrimental impact of counterterrorism on Tunisian political transition and democratic consolidation. It highlights human rights violations and their legitimization, the strengthening of repressive mechanisms, the enactment of liberticidal laws, the normalization of exceptional governance, and the constriction of public space, while also detailing its negative effects on the state's economy. The book posits that the counterterrorism rhetoric and policies have played a significant role in facilitating the democratic backsliding witnessed in Tunisia beginning in 2021. The research adopts a discursive-ethnographic approach that integrates critical analysis of presidential and parliamentary discourse with extensive fieldwork among institutional and associative actors in Tunisia. The volume represents the first comprehensive and holistic assessment of counterterrorism discourses and policies implemented in post-2011 Tunisia, highlighting their progressive impact on democratic transition. Guendalina Simoncini is post-doctoral researcher at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Florence.