Tunisia, a country located in the northern part of Africa, marks the birthplace of the Jasmine Revolution –a wave of demonstrations throughout the country all in support of overthrowing the current government at the time and creating a democracy. The Tunisian people saw that their economy, society and country were failing and realized that the current government system and officials were to blame. They succeeded in overthrowing the government and are currently trying to create a fair and stable democracy. A key element to democracy is rule of law. Rule of law is the legal principles that should govern a nation and is essential for a proper democracy. It protects the rights of citizens, as well as their property, from other citizens and the
As a step towards democracy the Tunisian government rewrote their constitution to give their citizens fundamental human rights, such as the right to be treated equal. Also many new rights were added to this constitution or at least had additional points added to already existing rights. Some of the rights guaranteed in this revised constitution were revolutionary for the Islamic world; an example would be article 46 of their constitution. This article states that the state will protect the rights of all women, and continue to strengthen and develop those rights. Addressing gender issues is a step that is needed for every country to become a democracy, because every country that is classified as a democracy now has had to go through equality issues. The constitution also guarantees; “Every Tunisian citizen aged eighteen years shall be deemed a voter in
The basis of a democracy is that the people voice their opinion on how the country should be run, and to make sure that those voices are heard. When Tunisia guaranteed their citizens the right to vote for the leader of their country they got one step closer to becoming a fairer democracy. Elections already existed in Tunisia but they were not guaranteed to be “fair” because of the corrupt government. Free and fair elections are one of the main premises of a democracy and in securing that right in their constitution Tunisia is bettering their standing as a country on the verge of a proper democracy. Among those two fundamental rights to a strong democracy, the constitution also guarantees many other important rights such as: right to privacy, freedom of expression, access to information, and laws that make the government accountable for their actions (Constitution of the Tunisian Republic, 2014). Tunisia was a country that was crippled by corruption that was rooted in their political system and it’s members. Once the corrupt government was overthrown they made the necessary changes to ensure that the same problem will not happen in the future. The steps forward that Tunisia has made with the revision of their constitution is truly the makings of a proper democratic state. Although some of their rights are vague or promise to monitor and revise the right in the
...vidual freedoms. We can say that democracy learns from its mistakes and improves, keeping into account the changing times and customs.
Democracy is designed to concentrate the power of government in the hands of the people and protect against autocracy and oligarchy. It presupposes societies need a modicum of rule, as they cannot function if there is anarchy. In this way, democracy is a virtue, or a mean between two vices. However, democracy has a sliding scale, the metric of which is the citizens who rule it. Citizens ultimately dictate the laws to be agreed upon, codified and enacted. These laws not only govern behavior and maintain order, but also provide citizens with a mechanism to seek relief through the courts should they be aggrieved.
Constitution is an idea whose earliest origins date back to King John’s Magna Carta. They are, in essence, the basic legal framework of state and society. Sovereign states are declared and revolutionized through the drafting of constitutions, and through their constant evolution and ephemeral nature, seek to reflect humanities transient social tendencies. As such, prevalent dichotomies emerge between the constitutions of nations alongside striking similarities. Such is the case with Canada and Egypt. This paper will parallel the Canadian and Egyptian constitutions in order to compare the similarities and differences between conceptions of individual rights, institutions of government, principles and objectives, and sovereignty
One basis of political democracy during this time period was the debate about property requirements to be able to vote. After the Revolution, no new state required property ownership to be able to vote. Also, constitutional conventions during the 1820s and 1830s got rid of property requirements within older states, mostly because the expanding amount of wage earners who did not have much property insisted on the right to vote. However, by 1860, in the South, where large slave owners controlled politics and did not trust mass democracy, property requisites were extinguished gradually and went away later than the rest of the nation. The personal independence necessary to the citizen was now found in owning one’s self, instead of owning property.
The Arab Spring was an event which became known throughout the world. According to Jason Brownlee, Tarek Masoud and Andrew Reynolds (2013), the Arab Spring started at the end of 2010 in a Middle Eastern country identified as Tunisia (p.29). This shows that a Middle Eastern country had ejaculated a force of civil motivations of activism in the Arab Spring, and this played an important role for the oppressed Arab citizens to demand equality and human rights. Yakub Halabi (2014) claims that a majority of Arab nations have ‘authoritarian’ systems of government with a lack of a unified community (p.100-101). This shows that democracy is lacking in many Arab nations in the Middle East while the citizens of those countries are vulnerable to conflict because of the social circumstances surrounding Arab nations. In addition, Brownlee, Masoud and Reynolds (2013) elaborates on the idea that subsequent to Tunisia’s Arab Spring, Egypt, Libya and Yemen had participated in the Arab Spring, and this caused the risk of civil, political and social unrest being extremely high in 2013 (p.29). This is relevant evidence that Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen are in a worse position than they were before the Arab Spring. The Arab Spring was portrayed as a stride for Middle Eastern states to become an equal democratic utopia. However, an unstable economy, foreign intervention and paid terrorists were some of the reasons of the Arab Spring being unsuccessful for inserting democracy into the channels of politics in several Middle Eastern countries.
In Tunisia, young people have taken control of a country that has been under the control of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali for the last 20 years. Tunisians could not get jobs without being extorted by local officials. They could not buy a house without bribing an official. Any activity involving government often required money to push the paperwork through. Tunisians who received coll...
In addition, Article 29 states, “The State guarantees the protection of motherhood, childhood, and old age and shall care for children and youth and provides them with the appropriate conditions to further their talents and abilities.” This is a unique, because it specifically mentions motherhood, which is a right that is only reserved for women. I think that it show much respect to women and their imperative role in reproduction and nurturer of life. In addition, Article 30 states, “The state guarantee to the individual and the family—especially children and women—social and health security and the basic requirements for leading a free and dignified life. The state also ensures the above a suitable income and appropriate housing.”
The Arab Spring is an extremely prominent issue today. This refers to the series of protests and civil wars that have been occurring in the Arab World due to discontent with government, human rights violations, poverty, and other factors. Countries where this is an issue include Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Syria, Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, and Sudan. One of the countries hit hardest by the revolution was Egypt.
Firstly, K. Isbester mentions that democracy has a different meaning for everyone, as some can define democracy as a good aspect for development, on the contrary other believe that it is nothing more than voting after several years. Although, Latin America see democratic g...
From Greek polis to French absolutism to Italian fascism, political system has varied across both spatial domain and temporal range. The dynamism with which the zeitgeist sways from one political system to other raises an essential question: Is there a final form of government? The dynamism, which has propagated other forms of governance in the past, now seems to favour liberal democracy, and many have posited the argument that liberal democracy is the final form of government. However, to establish such a case, three conditions need to be met. This essay will discuss what the three conditions are, how the three conditions are not met, or in cases they are met, the reasons for their insufficiency for the end of history with liberal democracy, and other shortcomings within the current political framework that suggest otherwise.
Throughout the ages religion has been an important part of man’s life. Even today many peoples lives are influenced by the teachings of their religious backgrounds. In ancient Egypt however, religion was the single most important influence on the civilization. It touched virtually every aspect of Egyptian life.
Freedom: something taken for granted by citizens all over the first world countries. The struggle for freedom all around the world is a very real one. Recently, the fight for freedom has taken the oppressed by storm. All over the globe, there have been many examples of people fed up with corruption and ready to take control of their lives and the lives of their children. This is evident through the struggles for freedom seen in Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, and most recently Ukraine. It’s 2014 and governments controlled by a central authority or dictator are still prevalent. Countries all over the world have been isolated and stripped of their individual voices. The struggle for freedom coexists with the struggle of finding a voice. A voice is what the Libyan people found in February of 2011 when they started protests against a regime that ruled for forty-two years in isolated dictatorship. Three years later, the very same voice that liberated them is one of the gigantic obstacles they’re facing in establishing a functioning government in the country. This emphatic voice that has been silenced for 42 years by an iron-fisted rule is now louder than ever. The consensus is that they want an operational democracy in place as soon as possible. But three years have passed, and the country is more restless than ever. The country is completely dysfunctional and there is no telling what the people will do next if a stable democratic constitution isn’t in place soon. They’ve just ousted their fourth prime minister in less than three years and casualties are increasing by the day. The current Libyan situation is widely attributed to the 2011 revolution. That being said, understanding how the 2011 revolution happened and why it unfolded the way it...
Birth and death in the Arab culture has being one of the most interesting topics that is being discussed more frequently. When people talk or hear about the Arab culture they tend to think about different things about them like they are being considered as terrorist, they oppress their women and many things like that. But we tend to forget that this people, the Arabs are also human beings that they have normal day-to-day activities like people in the other part of the so-called westernized world.
“Women’s human security rights in the Arab world: on nobody's agenda.” 50.50 Inclusive Democracy, 2 Dec. 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
Ancient Egypt was a civilization of rich culture, advanced techniques, and societal prosperity. Depending heavily on the Nile River for its resources, Egypt often found itself with an abundance of crops. This surplus was much to thank for the peace among Egypt’s society, without the lack of material, there was no need for disputing among themselves or other civilizations. Egypt was well organized, and utilized a monarchical government system that was influenced by their religious ideals and beliefs, as well as implementing roles for women in the society. The success of Ancient Egypt took hold for many years, and grew to become a model for the surrounding societies and groups.