The Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the National Dialogue Quartet in Tunisia highlights the crucial role of Tunisia’s civil society in the country’s transition from decades of dictatorship. The prize is a huge boost to social forces which have been the spark and the engine of Tunisia’s revolution and the ongoing struggle for freedom and dignity. Yet, we must not lose sight of the fact that the people of Tunisia are out on the streets again, once more demanding justice, equality and an end to corruption.
Despite a promising start to transitional justice processes after Ben Ali’s ouster under the previous government, the situation has deteriorated once again. The people’s anger is now trained on the new government, at least in part because it has not been able to respond effectively to society's demands for accountability for crimes committed under former regimes.
Threats to Tunisia’s transition do not just stem from economic downturns or terrorist attacks, but from the failure to keep the goals of transitional justice alive as one of the legacies of the revolution. If the current course is not corrected soon, impunity for past crimes may become the biggest threat to Tunisia’s transition to democracy and long-term stability.
