A Yearning for Emancipation

For Tunisians, 14 January 2011 was the dawn of a new age that shed its light on the whole Arab world. The fall of President Zine el Abideni Ben Ali after two decades of ruling Tunisia with an iron fist marked the start of a complex and lengthy process of transformation. The break-up of the existing rigid political and social structures also presented new opportunities for culture and education in the country. By promoting and supporting development in these two areas, Europe can make a lasting contribution to the democratisation of Tunisia and, in so doing, provide an effective blueprint for future policies towards other Arab countries in transition.

In this article we recommend five potential courses of action for future external cultural and educational policy initiatives on the part of the European Union and its Member States. These could offer an effective response to the challenges posed by Arab states such as Tunisia that are in the process of transition.

The mass protests in Tunisia and other Arab Spring countries such as Egypt were, among other things, an expression of a yearning for emancipation, and in particular emancipation from their countries’ authoritarian rulers. Their patriarchal rule was met by popular demands for self-determination and for a life free from state despotism and with equal economic opportunities for all.

First of all, it can adopt educational and cultural policies that treat the Arab states as equals, despite certain concrete imbalances (particularly in terms of budgets). This means accepting right from the start that cultural and educational relations are a two-way process.

For example, European students could be encouraged to spend a semester in Tunisia, rather than just the other way round. The new Erasmus Plus programme is a step in the right direction and needs to be actively promoted. It is important for countries that have committed themselves to the process of democratisation to be allowed to benefit fully from the programme.

The protests against regimes that were often Western-oriented or indeed supported by the West were viewed by the Arab world as a final act of decolonisation that finally gave people their independence.

Facilitating mobility between countries is also essential in order to promote cultural and academic exchange. For people in the Arab world, the issue of (temporary) access to Europe is a key indicator of just how serious the Europeans are when they promise genuine partnership with Arab states.

Secondly, Europe needs to recognise that true partnership means actually involving the target groups of European programmes in the design and development of these programmes from the outset. This is particularly true of civil society, which is experiencing an unexpectedly powerful renaissance in Tunisia. The fall of authoritarian regimes such as that in Tunisia or the moderate reforms taking place in countries such as Morocco and Jordan have opened up new opportunities that need to be exploited. It is heartening to see that not only political actors such as the European External Action Service (EEAS) but also intermediary organisations like the European cultural institutes have in fact been making strenuous efforts to implement such a bottom-up approach since the Arab Spring.

In the past, European policies – including cultural and educational cooperation programmes – may have also unwittingly contributed to strengthening the system of clientelism in countries such as Tunisia. During Ben Ali‘s time in power, grants from bodies such as the German Academic Exchange Service (GAES) for students to study in Europe were often allocated by the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education, so abuses of the system cannot be ruled out.

Since the revolution, institutions such as the GAES have taken the opportunity to contact their Tunisian target groups more directly by setting up their own offices in Tunisia and increasing the number of lectureships on offer at universities. This strategy should continue to be encouraged. In addition, advice and application processes should be designed in such a way (especially with regard to language) that as far as possible no stratum of society is excluded.

Despite the fact that there has been successful regime change in Tunisia, large parts of the state apparatus and other key public institutions are still dominated by the same elites and mentalities as before the revolution. Wherever possible, European cultural institutes should look beyond their normal practices and established relationships with local partners and endeavour to give opportunities to young people by offering then specific programmes with open, direct and transparent selection processes.

Anger at the growing levels of corruption and clientelism in the Ben Ali regime was not the only driving force behind the revolution. There was also a growing divide between the centre and outlying regions, between the well-to-do coastal regions and the country‘s neglected inland areas. In the years leading up to the revolution, there had already been a number of protests in provincial towns, such as the mining town of Gafsa. In the end it was not the country’s capital but the poor region of Sidi Bouzid that provided the spark for the successful uprising.

Anger at the growing levels of corruption and clientelism in the Ben Ali regime was not the only driving force behind the revolution. There was also a growing divide between the centre and outlying regions.

Bridging the divide between the centre and the periphery is now a major challenge, not only for Tunisian policymakers but also for European cultural and educational cooperation. There is no doubt that the cultural life of the capital Tunis and other coastal cities is far more dynamic and visible than elsewhere.

The quality of the universities in these cities also helps them to attract research partners from around the world. European cultural institutes and other intermediary organisations must guard against the temptation to concentrate only on these particular hotspots. Of course the search for suitable partners in the provinces is more laborious and it takes more time and effort for projects to be successful.

But the European cultural institutes can provide assistance – and not just for the deprived sectors of society – by setting specific programmes for marginalised regions and either opening local offices or at least establishing fixed local contacts and partners. By making it clear, for example, that access to culture and education is the right of citizens from all regions of Tunisia they can send a powerful message to the elites in the Tunisian capital.

After many years, the region’s authoritarian regimes have finally been forced to relax their iron grip on their countries. However, in some Arab states this has led to the emergence of cultural lines of conflict over the question of identity, whether ideological, ethnic or socio-economic. These lines of conflict have intersected with struggles for the realignment of power, fanning the flames of civil war in Syria and spawning violent clashes between supporters and opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

Even in a country like Tunisia, which is going through a relatively peaceful process of transition, the question of identity has assumed major importance. Mistrust is rife, particularly between the secular and Islamist camps. The political and public arenas have seen a great deal of controversy and debate about the precise role of Islam in the new constitution and how to deal with Salafist groups, some of which seem prepared to resort to violence to achieve their aims. This is probably the second biggest area of contention within Tunisian society after the centre/periphery issue and is reflected in the country‘s party system, with the Islamist Ennadah and the secularist Nida Tounes representing the opposite ends of the political spectrum.

Secondly, European cultural and educational policies can create appropriate platforms for internal dialogue within Tunisia and provide programmes that will bring different groups together to discuss key issues. For example, all new parties, whatever their political persuasion, have a vested interest in developing an effective and democratic youth organisation. European intermediary organisations could offer assistance to all parties in this respect, which could incorporate joint seminars and educational trips.

European cultural and educational policies can create appropriate platforms for internal dialogue within Tunisia and provide programmes that will bring different groups together to discuss key issues.

Europe and its external cultural policy have reacted relatively quickly to the recent changes in North Africa. The EU and many Member States, including countries such as Germany that do not actually border the Mediterranean region, have already set up their own support programmes. Tunisia in particular is reaping the benefits from these.

However, transformation is a long-drawn out process and this emergency aid for culture and education needs to be consolidated in the form of structural cooperation. Ad-hoc measures alone are not enough to meet the challenges facing cultural and educational policy in Tunisia and to establish Europe as a credible partner. All too often, such measures only benefit media-savvy groups that already enjoy high visibility and strong international networks.

If we look beyond financial issues, it is clear that European cooperation in the area of culture and education should be concentrated in two key areas. First of all, there needs to be a stronger focus on developing structures and creating multipliers. In concrete terms, joint projects with universities could involve students and lecturers alike. Universities could also be helped to redesign their curricula and set up research networks and graduate schools.

At a time of transition, when a country’s citizens tend to put everything under the microscope, this kind of approach may well be the best way forward. In the Tunisian education sector people are acutely aware of the need for modernisation and internationalisation and so are keen to work with European partners.

Key European actors should set an important example by seeking dialogue with all groups that renounce violence.

Secondly, projects by European cultural and intermediary organisations should not be launched only when the political climate means that funds are available. There needs to be a long-term commitment to such projects, including helping to guarantee their long-term viability, which includes efforts for secure follow-up funding. However, European cultural and educational policy stakeholders who make efforts at local level to work with these kinds of objectives in mind are often hampered by technical budgetary restrictions, such as the fact that funds cannot be carried over to the following year, and – particularly in the case of EU programmes – highly complex application procedures.

The protest movements of the Arab Spring took a remarkably parallel course. They were effectively a cross-border, pan-Arab phenomenon with young activists networking and inspiring each other. They also shared ideas (often only virtually) with people of like minds in other parts of the world, such as members of the Occupy and Indignados movements. The fall of authoritarian, power-hungry regimes in the Maghreb opened up new possibilities for regional integration in the future.

In addition, the popular uprisings all brought with them a feeling of national liberation (which in Egypt then took on a more nationalistic character during the difficult process of transition). National symbols such as flags and anthems were and still are an important component of the demonstrators‘ arsenal in the Arab Spring countries.

At a time when tensions are running high, Europe can make an important contribution to helping countries develop an enlightened and open sense of national identity that is not simply based on xenophobia and conspiracy theories but which opens the door to greater regional and Euro-Mediterranean integration. For this to happen, Europe itself needs to set an example. The rise in often xenophobic populism in many European countries and their restrictive immigration policies, especially towards the Arab countries in transition, means that Europe has seriously lost credibility over recent years.

On the other hand, partner countries also need to be encouraged to commit to cross-border cooperation projects. The role of religion or the political marginalisation of young people and their lack of financial prospects are important issues in the whole of North Africa. Cultural and educational projects could create the platforms and networks needed to facilitate the sharing of ideas and experiences and in the medium-term help to make progress towards greater political and economic integration.

Europe can make an important contribution to helping countries develop an enlightened and open sense of national identity that is not simply based on xenophobia and conspiracy theories but which opens the door to greater regional and Euro-Mediterranean integration.

In many instances, the euphoric sense of hope triggered in the early days of the Arab Spring has been destroyed by government brutality, ideological radicalisation, social polarisation, economic stagnation and geopolitical interests. However long and laborious the process of transformation proves to be, there is no doubt that the successful popular uprising in Tunisia in 2011 heralded the dawn of a new era in which European-Arab relations are increasingly being placed under the microscope. Over the years to come, joint cultural and educational projects that are adapted to the needs of the transition process and that take a long-term, dialogue-oriented and multinational approach based on partnership can certainly serve as role models.