“This is the only remaining space where actors representing different political parties can come together”, says Dr. Ahmed Driss, Director of our partner CEMI, about the Tunisian School of Politics, founded in 2012 with Demo Finland’s support.
The Tunisian think tank Centre des Etudes Méditerranéennes et Internationales (CEMI), Demo Finland, and the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD) founded the Tunisian School of Politics in 2012. Preparations began in 2011, shortly after the Jasmine Revolution that toppled the regime of President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali.
During the previous regime, there was an unspoken agreement that the opposition could participate in elections and have a few representatives in the parliament, but there was no co-operation whatsoever between the government and the opposition, says CEMI Director Ahmed Driss. The government engaged in some social dialogue for example with the country’s largest trade union, but there was no political dialogue with the opposition.
Opportunities for young people to influence decision-making were also limited. The ruling party did have its own training programs, which were intended to prepare new generations to take power eventually. Meetings and consultations with young people were also organised, but they had no impact. “It wasn’t real participation,” Driss notes.
The year 2011 changed the entire political landscape in Tunisia, and there was a great need for a school of politics for young people, Driss explains. “We collected the needs of the political parties, and they all clearly expressed a need to educate the next generation to participate in politics and be active in society.” This led to the creation of the Tunisian School of Politics, TSoP.
Increased co-operation and new skills
Initially, one group of young people – or people new to politics – was trained annually by the TSoP. After a few years, TSoP also launched advanced training courses for the alumni. Its activities then expanded to include a parliamentary academy, the establishment of a high-level multi-party dialogue platform and a regional academy bringing together young people from several North African and Middle Eastern countries. In addition, TSoP has organised various public events and roundtable discussions.
TSoP has fostered friendships across party lines, and participants have described TSoP as being like a family despite the different political views of the participants.
Participation in the TSoP courses has strengthened young politicians’ capacity to engage in politics and their parties’ decision-making, as well as increased their co-operation with representatives of other political parties and civil society. TSoP has fostered friendships across party lines, and participants have described TSoP as being like a family despite the different political views of the participants.
In addition to regional meetings, international experience exchange has taken place through study visits to the Netherlands and Finland. Ahmed Driss says that participants of the visits have learned a lot about multi-party co-operation, social dialogue and intra-party democracy, among other things. “Sometimes it has been very small, sometimes very clear. The impact is still there, as some participants have advanced to significant positions in their parties, and all those who are still involved politically are doing their best to promote these ideas in their political organisations as well.”
Political parties are facing a difficult situation
Tunisia’s political landscape has again changed significantly in recent years, and the Tunisian School of Politics has had to adapt. President Kais Saied, who was elected in 2019, dismissed the government and suspended parliament in July 2021. The country has slid towards authoritarianism as the president has concentrated power in his own hands. The independence of the judiciary and electoral authorities has been significantly weakened by constitutional amendments, among other things. In addition, the new electoral law does not give political parties any role in elections, making politics more personalised. The electoral law also removed quotas for young people and women and set restrictions and further requirements for running for office.
The weak state of democracy and the rule of law has undermined Tunisians’ trust in political decision-making: voter turnout in the 2022–2023 parliamentary elections was only around 11%, and in the 2024 presidential elections it was 28.8%. About half of Tunisia’s population is under 30, and young people’s trust in the political system is particularly low. In addition, young people’s future prospects are overshadowed by very high unemployment and rapid inflation.
“Political parties have not disappeared, but they don’t have the chance to participate in elections. When political parties cannot take part in elections and win seats, the main element that allows parties to recruit new people, giving them the chance to be elected, is not there”, Driss says.
This has also been a challenge for the Tunisian School of Politics, as participants for its courses are no longer found from political parties as they used to be. Already earlier, TSoP had included young people from civil society in its courses, but their proportion has now increased. “The same number of political parties are still involved in the programme, but instead of 10 people from a party, we now have two,” says Driss.
The weak state of democracy and the rule of law has undermined Tunisians’ trust in political decision-making.
However, Driss sees the inclusion of more participants from civil society as a positive development. “Young people know that nowadays it is not possible to participate in politics through political parties, but they want to have an impact, and there is still space in the civil society.”
According to Driss, young Tunisians are used to having democracy and civil liberties, and it is not possible for them to think that democracy has no future in the country. “They have to fight, but I don’t know how. It seems that, in this society, there is some kind of boiling underneath.”
Driss says that, at the same time, people fear that democracy would bring Islamists to power, which would change society. Young people are waiting for better times – and solutions that, according to Driss, are not in sight. “I don’t think that this is possible to maintain forever. Somewhere, we will have a reaction.”
The importance of maintaining democratic values and dialogue
Political parties have been excluded from decision-making, so multi-party dialogue in its original sense no longer exists in Tunisia. “Today, ‘multi-party’ only means a platform for opposition, because there’s no ruling party”, says Driss. However, the Tunisian School of Politics remains a space in which all political parties have a chance to come together and share the same values. “It is our biggest achievement”.
It is not possible for young Tunisians to think that democracy has no future in the country.
Driss estimates that around 10–15 percent of TSoP participants disappear from its sphere of influence and do not change their attitude towards, for example, working with other parties. However, at least 85 percent see politics and the national interest in a new light and share the same democratic values.
Although the democratisation of Tunisia has taken a U-turn, Ahmed Driss believes that political parties and co-operation between them are necessary: “Democracy means pluralism. The plurality of ideas, opinions and views cannot be expressed without political parties, because society needs organisations that can frame those ideas, give people the opportunity to defend those ideas within the legal frame and transform them into policies.”
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This article is part of the “20 Years of Demo Finland” series of stories about Demo Finland’s long-term or completed projects and their results. Read more about the anniversary year here.