by Youssef Cherif | Apr 28, 2014 | Majalla Blogs
Libya has made the transition from dictatorship, but it is now an anarchy calling itself a democracy. The chaos enveloping it was once also seen in neighboring Tunisia, where new democratic ambitions were struggling to take root amid counterrevolution, an economic...
by Youssef Cherif | Mar 21, 2014 | Majalla Blogs
In the early years after the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, the US was perceived as friendly. It was only in 1956 that its charismatic first president, Gamal Abdel Nasser, clearly shifted into the Soviet camp (however non-aligned he had claimed to be). While the US put...
by Youssef Cherif | Dec 13, 2013 | Majalla Blogs
Tunisia under Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali had its propagandists and organic intellectuals, like any regime would. Many of them served Ben Ali and his Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) party, consolidating his power locally and abroad. Some of those polished his image...
by Youssef Cherif | Jul 30, 2013 | Majalla Blogs
The same setting, same strategy, same weapon, same political inclination of the victim, and same tears from a now fatherless child: Last Thursday morning in Tunisia was, for many, a morbid reminder of Chokri Belaid’s assassination in February, less than six months...
by Youssef Cherif | Jun 20, 2013 | Majalla Blogs
To any observer, the drastic change to Tunisia’s public sphere pre and post Arab Spring, lies in the introduction of politics and uncensored speech. Another change, less documented, is in the presence of the Army. It would not be an exaggeration to say that in January...
