The recently-elected Tunisian government has
appointed new individuals to head positions in major media outlets.
Attacks by the Tunisian police on journalists, writers, and artists
continue. (Read)
What a surprise! The thing that confuses me most when I read about violations of freedom of expression in Arab countries is the cause. Who sits in the policy meetings and says, “Hey! You know what I’ve always wanted to try, just like the leaders before me? Censorship!”?
As far as I understand, most Arab states after the end of colonial occupation were de facto totalitarian regimes, regardless of if their constitutions said otherwise (here’s looking at you, Egypt). A totalitarian leader obviously has to censor freedom of expression to bolster credibility by silencing detractors, however that policy clearly failed time and again as previous party changes and the very recent revolutions in Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia show.
If this kind of approach doesn’t appear to work in the long-run, and only engenders fury from the public, why do it? Could it simply be the new regime leaders’ inexperience policy-wise?
The only other reason I can reluctantly think of for freedom of expression violations arising in Arab states would be Islamism. If the Nehda Party, which leads Tunisia currently, is trying to promote Islamic values by spying on and roughing-up cadres of free-thinkers, it seems a rather counterproductive scheme since they are already under a national and international microscope. This amoeba has been trying to prove it is moderate and even secular when suitable.
Cracking down on the Tunisian media, and company: not the way to show the world you’re committed to these moderate values.
What a surprise! The thing that confuses me most when I read about violations of freedom of expression in Arab countries is the cause. Who sits in the policy meetings and says, “Hey! You know what I’ve always wanted to try, just like the leaders before me? Censorship!”?
As far as I understand, most Arab states after the end of colonial occupation were de facto totalitarian regimes, regardless of if their constitutions said otherwise (here’s looking at you, Egypt). A totalitarian leader obviously has to censor freedom of expression to bolster credibility by silencing detractors, however that policy clearly failed time and again as previous party changes and the very recent revolutions in Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia show.
If this kind of approach doesn’t appear to work in the long-run, and only engenders fury from the public, why do it? Could it simply be the new regime leaders’ inexperience policy-wise?
The only other reason I can reluctantly think of for freedom of expression violations arising in Arab states would be Islamism. If the Nehda Party, which leads Tunisia currently, is trying to promote Islamic values by spying on and roughing-up cadres of free-thinkers, it seems a rather counterproductive scheme since they are already under a national and international microscope. This amoeba has been trying to prove it is moderate and even secular when suitable.
Cracking down on the Tunisian media, and company: not the way to show the world you’re committed to these moderate values.
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