Tunisian Exceptionalism: Kais Saied and the Democratic Condition
Karim Zakhour writes for InsideArabia about how Tunisia’s brand of populism reveals important implications about the nature of democracy and the inherent threats to it:
The strength of Tunisia’s civil society, and above all the looming economic meltdown, will likely mean that Saied’s days are numbered. If and when democracy returns, its champions inside and outside of Tunisia need to be more clear-eyed about its inherent contradictions. Nor should we fall into our own tendency of scapegoating populism and its proponents. Populism channels perennial democratic fears: fears that outsiders will corrupt the purity of the people, fears that the elected rulers will devour the people, and finally fears of the people themselves. We all carry these fears within ourselves, and we must acknowledge them in order to confront them.
Read the full article here.
