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Will the real Tunisian opposition please stand up? Opposition coordination failures under authoritarian constraints

Haugbbolle, Rikke Hostrup and Cavatorta, Francesco orcid logoORCID: 0000-0003-2249-1392 (2011) Will the real Tunisian opposition please stand up? Opposition coordination failures under authoritarian constraints. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 38 (3). pp. 323-341. ISSN 1353-0194

Abstract
This contribution examines the reasons behind the failure of Tunisia's opposition to forge effective coordination and collaborative links during Ben Ali's reign, focusing specifically on the inability and unwillingness of political parties to act in concert in order to challenge his authoritarian rule. Focusing on two attempts at opposition coordination in the 2000s (Rencontre Démocratique and 18 October Collectif), it demonstrates that a number of interconnected explanations are at the heart of this failure, ranging from ideological differences and strategic divergence to personal rivalries among opposition leaders. The key contention of this study is that divisions within the political opposition were as important as regime repression in sustaining the Ben Ali regime for over 20 years. In addition, the present study contends that these intra-opposition divisions and past coordination failures explain the absence of political parties at the helm of the 2011 uprising.
Metadata
Item Type:Article (Published)
Refereed:Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:opposition parties; cross-ideological cooperation; coordination failures; Rencontre Démocratique; Collectif
Subjects:Social Sciences > International relations
Social Sciences > Political science
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Science > School of Law and Government
Publisher:Taylor & Francis
Official URL:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2011.621696
Copyright Information:This is an electronic version of an article published in British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2011.621696
Use License:This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. View License
ID Code:16714
Deposited On:21 Dec 2011 11:19 by Fran Callaghan . Last Modified 14 Sep 2021 11:51
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