Summary and review by Jake Stalcup, August Peters, Carsen Winn, Jack DeFrino, Andrew McGrath, Jon Hurvitz

Tunisian Revolutions: Reflections on Seas, Coasts, and Interiors was written by Julia Clancy-Smith and published in 2014. The book acknowledges the importance of the economic and political factors in the rise of the Arab Spring in Tunisia, but offers a much more complicated analysis of the reason for the revolution. The author’s main goal in her book is to examine the difference between the coastal and interior areas of Tunisia and their role in the last two centuries in shaping the country. Clancy-Smith examines how the coastal area of Tunisia is much more productive, wealthy, and dependent on tourism than the poorer, marginalized interior region. She explains how the simple geographic differences have led to discussions of religion, gender, and politics that continue to affect the country and greatly influenced the revolution.

In this book review, we will first give summaries of all sections of the work, explaining key ideas discussed in each. Then we will give criticism of the book as a whole and explain why it is important to read to better understand the Tunisian revolution. We will also explain our position as compared to Julia Clancy-Smith’s, and offer suggestions on what could be improved.

Introduction: The introduction of Tunisian Revolutions: Reflections on Seas, Coasts, and Interiors begins with a brief history of the middle class, its growth since 1980, and reasons for that advance like international tourism, phosphate industry, and the new light manufacturing industry. The author Julia Clancy-Smith then lists the five questions she would like to answer in her writing related to the coastalization and the history of Tunisia in relation to the revolution. The overarching focus of the book is to explain the reason why the coasts of countries (specifically Tunisia) are much better off than the interior regions and what this has to do with the Arab Spring.

Preludes and Postscripts: Of Baguettes and Social Protest: The first section of the book gives an broad overview of some protests and causes that led to the Tunisian revolution, explaining that, in theory, it could have started anywhere. However, a large focus of the protesters of the interior in Sidi Bouzid was the privatization of water by Ben Ali and his regime. After explaining some consequences of this water privatization, there is an important statistic that about eighty percent of Tunisia’s production exists in the coastal regions of the country.

Coastalization: Agriculture, Colonialism, and the Granary of Rome: Tunisia’s strategic location on the Sicilian channel and its fertile soil made it an integral part of Mediterranean trade for centuries.  Due to the Napoleonic Wars and multiple European revolutions, sixty percent of Tunisia’s modern economic trade existed with Europe.  However, as droughts struck the country in the mid-1800s and caused massive crop failures, Tunisia slid into an economic recession.  The decline in crop sales caused the western regions of Tunisia to be ignored by the governing classes and commercial interests. The widening rift between the Tunisian elite and the middle class reached a critical mass in 1864 when the Tunisian citizens revolted and the damage to their economy forced Tunisia into great debt, which led to increased foreign investment, especially from France and Italy.  As the farmers lost their grip on their homeland, the emergence of World War I allowed an increase in exportation and amplified the trans-Mediterranean economy and the power of coastalization over resource accumulation and distribution.

Coastalization and Globalization: Tourism, Profane and Sacred: Anticolonial activism and independence movements within Tunisia originated with efforts to increase international presence within Tunisia. During the 19th century, efforts to increase tourism to promote economic growth engulfed the country. The “belle époque” of that tourism, the Tunisian Palace Hotel, launched an advertising campaign in conjunction with the rest of the country claiming to be the “most beautiful resort on the African coastline”.  This example of coastalization in the Tunisian economy served to fuel infrastructural development, employment, and overall economic growth in Tunisia. These efforts of the Tunisian government led to their selection to host the ‘Eucharistic Congress’, a Christian gathering aimed to defend the Church against the Third Republic’s anticlericalism. The congress didn’t proceed as planned, however, as many Muslim Tunisians saw the mass gathering and parading of Christians as a revival of the Crusades.  Under Bourguiba’s leadership, the country demanded absolute independence from France in response to the Congress. As Tunisia suffers from high unemployment and general economic weakness, Tunisia’s history of tourism may serve as an untapped natural resource for the country.    

Mediterranean Women, Politics, and Islam: This section of the book talks about the progression of women’s rights and equality from the early 1900’s to current times. There were several major movements during this period that positively contributed to women’s place in society. In March of 1932, the first “Congres des Femmes Mediterraneennes” took place in which countries surrounding the Mediterranean met to discuss women’s rights in the region. This was a first major step to the discussion of improving women’s status in society. World War II was also a major event that brought about the conversation of women’s rights. During the war, major women’s group were formed, including The Union of Women in Tunisia (UTF), who would play a major role in advocating for women’s rights and better access to healthcare and education. In 1956, the Code of Personal Status “placed the country [Tunisia] at the forefront of the Arab world in regard to women’s rights”. This CPS would come under scrutiny many years later, and eventually women’s rights and religion would be written into the new constitution in 2014.

Mediterranean Games, Politics, and Dissent: The dissatisfaction with the old regime in Tunisia manifested itself in a few ways over the six-decade period in which Bourguiba and Ben Ali were in power. However their promotion of the tourism industry and the uniquely Mediterranean identity of Tunisia boosted tourism and brought different cultural ideas to Tunisia, namely sports. Soccer was the most popular, but a wide variety of traditional (boar hunting) and popular (basketball, golf, tennis) sports saw a boon in line with the growth of tourism. Sports themselves, according to Tunisian scholar Borhane Errain in his 1992 dissertation on the topic, along with national unity “are naturally reinforcing.” The hosting of the Mediterranean Games in 1967 and 2001 were attempts by both dictators to undercut dissent and exhibit Tunisia’s supposed modernity. However, in 2001, in preparation for the games, the regime suppressed the media, murkily took private lands, and made them public to build extravagant venues for the games. These evictions of thousands of people from their homes highlight clear human rights violations and an example of the old regime’s suppressive nature.

From Sidi Bou Sa’id to Sidi Bouzid: Targets and Symbols: The drastic rise in tourism in Tunisia in the 1980’s and 1990’s served as a major influx of capital into both the national economy and Ben Ali’s own pockets. The growing inequality gap in regards to wealth illustrated itself through the massive villas constructed along the coastline. Furthermore, Ben Ali’s personal expenditures, specifically on a palace and the 2001 Mediterranean games indicated the great rise in his personal wealth. The underlying cause of the revolution in 2011 was this major wealth gap, and the constant reminders in the form of lavish palaces and villas only served to speed up the process. After the Arab Spring began and Ben Ali fled, the physical manifestation of these expenditures, specifically monuments to Ben Ali and his many palaces, saw the brunt of the protests, as they were burned and vandalized, an expression of the collective anger of the Tunisian people.

Conclusion: To conclude her book on her analysis of the Tunisian revolution, Julia Clancy-Smith tries to bring attention to what she believes to be the greatest issue facing many democratic transitions. Close ties between multinational corporations and totalitarian dictatorships are often mutually beneficial for both parties. Using their power and influence, they steal from the resources and people of nations like Tunisia who are, with the exception of revolution, powerless to stop them. She urges the reader to understand that Tunisia’s experience is not unique and that these business relationships exist across the developing world, hindering progress and change for the better.

This book is important to read when studying Tunisia due to the scope of the Arab Spring in the country and its numerous causes. Although there are many different components that induced protests and the revolution including unemployment, water and food shortages, production disparities, and corruption of leaders, many of these were due to other factors. To understand the Tunisian Revolution entirely, Julia Clancy-Smith explains that it is crucial to learn about the differences between the interior and coastal regions of the region and their significance in the revolution. We learn the disparities that exist between these two regions and their role in the Arab Spring. Also discussed is the role of different industries and cultural aspects like tourism, sports, agriculture, gender, and religion. We agree with the analysis given by the author in explaining the differences in the interior and coastal regions, and the resulting issues that have emerged. They are at the foundation of the revolution and result in some of its most important causes.

This book is not without its faults, however, and there are some aspects that we would change to better represent Tunisia and its issues as a whole. As the fertile land of Tunisia has been the target of foreign investment for centuries, Tunisian farmers have been constantly disenfranchised and suffer from much of Tunisia’s economic hardships.  In 1961, President Bourguiba worked to free the land for his people from foreign investment.  However, as the state moved towards a “free market”, the large landholdings distributed to the wealthy elite continued to grow.  In an attempt to revive farming in the middle class, the Bourguiba regime initiated efforts to encourage studies and careers in agriculture.  The book delves deeply into the root causes of the farmers struggle, and all they have done to overcome it.  However it fails to address the outcome of Bourguiba’s efforts to increase education of these farmers. More focus on this subject would offer a more complete picture of impact of coastalization on the interior agricultural community of Tunisia.

Next, although it is important to understand the progression of women’s rights in Tunisia, it is crucial to note that some of these changes, for better or for worse, were brought about without the consensus of the population. An example of this is the prohibition of wearing veils under the old regime. Veils are a critical aspect of Islam and completely eliminating the ability for women to wear veils is not necessarily a progressive step. It does, however, allow for rights violations of the female Islamic population. The book neglects to discuss topics like this in detail, and would benefit from more discourse on the role of the population in the progression of women’s rights.

While it is important to remember the mistreatment of the Tunisian people under the Ben Ali regime, when reading Clancy-Smith’s book, it is hard to see how international organizations and watchdogs could have allowed the level misconduct she describes in her conclusion. While greed is undeniably a powerful force that drives dictators and businessmen alike, the author attempts to dump all the problems of Tunisia’s economy at the feet of international corporations. While there have undoubtedly been secret and unethical dealings between the Ben Ali regime and international businessmen, there are still a multitude of problems regarding the socioeconomic status of Tunisia that can be deemed homegrown and free of foreign influence.

Although there are problems in Clancy-Smith’s book describing the effects of coastalization and other important issues on Tunisia and its revolution, they do not overshadow its successes. Important aspects of Tunisia are presented in an objective and logical manner, and give a perspective on life in Tunisia that is rarely discussed or studied. This book gives an incredible look into cultural, institutional, governmental, and geographic issues in Tunisia during the rule of the old regime by examining them in a manner infrequently seen in modern study of the country.