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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Ben Ali's constitutional coup in Tunisia
Author:Ware, L.B.ISNI
Year:1988
Periodical:Middle East Journal
Volume:42
Issue:4
Pages:587-601
Language:English
Geographic term:Tunisia
Subjects:coups d'état
1987
External link:http://search.proquest.com/pao/docview/1290841519
Abstract:On November 7, 1987, Tunisian Prime Minister Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali deposed President-for-Life Habib Bourguiba and assumed the duties of the chief executive of the republic. This article examines the environment that led to the coup, the personality and persuasions of its leader, his relationship to the Tunisian military and political leadership, and the conditions under which the military could be called upon to take a more active part in the evolution of a post-Bourguiba polity. Ben Ali's approach to popular democracy gained symbolic affirmation with the change of the Destourian Socialist Party's name to the Destourian Democratic Rally. To be effective, however, such populism implies further modifications: respect for an independent judiciary; a legislature open to public scrutiny; an enlarged pluralism; parties that renounce secrecy and are democratically run; and a free press. If national politics degenerate into immobilism, it is probable that the armed forces will assume the task of reconciliation. Notes, ref.
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