The Failure of Democracy in the Arab Context: The Tunisian Case

Complesso Monumentale dello Steri – Sala Magna

December 15, 2023

The conference will examine why democracy has struggled to take root in the Arab world: historical factors such as the consequences of oil resources, autocratic regimes, the inability to effectively implement economic reforms, the historical legacy of the alliance with the Soviet Union and the effects of colonialism, and in more recent times the negative parabola of the “Arab Springs” and in particular the failure of the compromise between Islamic and secular political forces that had made possible the beginning of a democratic path for Tunisia, now dominated by an autocratic power that arrests opponents.

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Agenda

Friday, December 15

9:30 Opening Remarks

Magnifico Rettore Massimo Midiri (TBC)

Giancarlo Bosetti, Executive Chair Reset Dialogues on Civilizations

9:45 – 11:15 Session 1 | Why are there no Arab democracies?

• Mohamed Haddad (Université de la Manouba)
• Sari Hanafi (American University of Beirut) online
• Ruth Hanau Santini (Università Orientale di Napoli)

11:30 – 12:30 Session 2 | Islamic thought on modernization in the Muslim context

• Mohammed Hashas (LUISS Guido Carli)

12:30 – 13:45 Lunch

13:45 – 15:15 Session 3 | The end of the Tunisian exception

• Maryam Ben Salem (Université de Sousse)
• Sharan Grewal (College of William & Mary)
• Radwan Masmoudi (Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy) 

15:30 – 17:00 Session 4 | The parabolic path of the Arab Springs

• Marco Di Donato (Università di Palermo)
• Abderrazak Kilani (Lawyer and former Ambassador for Tunisia) online
• Renata Pepicelli (Università di Pisa)

17:15 – 19:00 Round Table | The international outlook on the failure of democracy in the Arab world

• Maryam Ben Salem (Université de Sousse)
• Mohamed Haddad (Université de la Manouba)
• Sharan Grewal (College of William & Mary)
• Ruth Hanau Santini (Università Orientale di Napoli)
• Marcello Scalisi (Mediterranean Universities Union)

Chair: Jonathan Laurence (Boston College)