By Michael Meyer-Resende and Geoffrey Weichselbaum
The biggest risk is that Tunisia’s politicians consider the past constitution-making as a painful, one-off exercise in negotiation and compromise, imposed by voting rule technicalities, rather than taking pride in setting a precedent for the country’s democratic culture and the region.
After high hopes following the revolution in 2011, many Tunisians became disappointed with the slow pace of reforms and the seemingly endless political struggles that followed the overthrow of the dictatorial Ben-Ali. They wondered if the country was going anywhere. Amidst the frustration, the recent adoption of a new constitution offers a beacon of hope not only in Tunisia, but across a region that has seen little good news lately. In agreeing the constitution, Tunisians have shown that meaningful political negotiations and agreement between widely diverse positions is possible.
The full article can be read on opendemocracy.net
Picture: Amine Ghrabi / flickr