2013-14
Mitra FAMILY GRANT Recipient
A Comparison of the Causes of the 1989 Collapse of Communism in Poland and the 2010 Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia Maya Madhavan, Class of 2014
A Comparison of the Causes of the Collapse of Communism in Poland and the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia
Mentors: Ms. Susan Smith and Ms. Carol Zink
April 14, 2014
Maya Madhavan 2014 Mitra ScholarIn 1989 and again in 2010, the world saw two major events that caused a restructuring of the reigning systems of power in different locations. Nineteen eighty-nine brought about the collapse of communism while 2010 was the beginning of the end for a number of dictators in the Arab world. Leading the way were, respectively, Poland and Tunisia, the two countries that were the first to successfully launch revolts. Despite sharing a number of broad similarities, the Polish and Tunisian revolutions travelled along divergent economic and political paths. The key difference between the two was that the Tunisian uprising had occurred in a time that allowed the well-educated youths, who formed the backbone of the revolution, to be better equipped than the uninformed Poles were to launch a sustainable revolt. This paper examines the overarching trends that both had in common, as well as the nuances that made each a response to unique socioeconomic, bureaucratic, and technological circumstances.
Communist Poland had been a Soviet satellite state since the end of the Second World War, when tensions between the USSR and the United States led to the outbreak of the Cold War. The formerly agricultural Poland was industrialized by the Polish United Workers Party (PUWP), which, with the Soviet Union’s backing, dominated the political system, taking over the presidency and a majority of the seats in the Sejm, the Polish parliament.1 Before the Soviet Union came into existence, the communist theory had never been put into practice. Observers were curious to see how it would play out in the Eastern bloc, with many believing that it would be successful until it failed.2 The optimism that existed in the beginning soon dissipated as the countries faced numerous economic hardships and extreme repression.3 The emergence of the widely supported trade union Solidarity in 1980 was an indication that the communist system was failing. Led by an electrician named Lech Walesa, Solidarity unified the many groups who opposed the government under one umbrella organization.4 After it was forced underground in
the early 1980s due to governmental pressure, it became heavily politicized and eventually became a political party.5 Because of its size and import, its leaders managed to arrange meetings with the PUWP. These conferences, known as the Roundtable Talks, were arbitrated by the Catholic Church and led to the inclusion of Solidarity in the 1989 electoral ballot.6 Solidarity politicians swept through the Sejm, and Poland removed itself from the Soviet bloc with the acceptance of Mikhail Gorbachev.
By comparison, modern day Tunisia was an independent capitalist nation. Prior to 2010, it was run by a single man who had expanded his power so far that he was widely regarded as a dictator. President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali had been the country’s leader ever since he ousted former president Habib Bourguiba in a 1987 coup.7 Originally, the former Prime Minister, who briefly served as ambassador to Poland, was a popular leader within and outside the country because he pursued pro-western policies, improved the economy, and pledged to follow a reformist agenda. Over time, his once positive image deteriorated particularly within Tunisia as he became corrupt, conservative and oppressive.8 Late in 2010, a street vendor named Mohammed Bouzasi set himself on fire in response to governmental abuses. His act turned him into a martyr and set off a string of protests known as the Jasmine Revolution.9 As a part of several futile attempts to regain control, Ali publically threatened protestors before making concessions and finally escaping the country.10
American historian Crane Brinton presented a model for revolutions in his 1938 book Anatomy of a Revolution, one that serves as a benchmark for the analysis of revolutions. According to Brinton, the conditions that generally exist before the government has lost power can be divided into two different stages. In the preliminary stage, hostility develops between the social classes, and high-ranking officials and academics oppose the ineffective administrations
and the incompetent leaders that are in control. Attempts by the regime to use violence against its citizens will be thwarted due to this lack of support. Following the preliminary stage is the first stage, which includes both the economic failures of the government and the actual outbreak of the revolution. With the rise of protests, comes the eventual fall of the regime. Many of what Brinton identifies as factors that incite revolution were present in the years leading up to the revolutions in Poland and Tunisia.11
Economic Factors
One of the most striking issues in Poland and Tunisia, and the one that caused the most dissatisfaction amongst citizens, was the inability of the government to maintain economic growth and improve the quality of life for all citizens. In the decades prior to the revolutions, each county experienced unique economic growth patterns, but the economic failures of Brinton’s preliminary stage were present in both.
Poland’s fragile economy teetered between periods of growth and deterioration, a situation that the government both caused and worsened. The economy’s general trend was negative, and the first signs of its future decay appeared at the outset of the communist transition. The PUWP could not handle the burden of transforming a primarily agricultural economy into one centered on industry without the use of Western technologies. Before WWII, Poland had a large agricultural sector, and though it industrialized under communist rule, this industry remained mostly untouched. Less than 8 percent of the land that had once been used for farming was collectivized, and the privatized part of the sector was not modernized partly because the state did not support its mechanization.12 Therefore, agriculture, which was once one of the most important sources of income and employment for many Poles, became an industry in which they could not succeed. This was one reason why Poland was one of the poorest nations within the
Soviet bloc.13 The government’s heavy borrowing originally masked this situation. During the 1970s, which was sometimes referred to as the “Golden Age” of Communism, Eastern European countries experienced high levels of economic growth. Poland, in particular, reached six percent yearly growth in the first three years of the decade due the growth of industries.14 At the time, the PUWP’s head, First Secretary Edward Gierek, attempted to foster good relations with Western countries.15 The expansion that occurred while he was in office was financed by heavy borrowing from these countries, and left Poland with the largest debt amongst all the countries in the Soviet Bloc. 16 After the 1970s, growth slowed to 1.4 percent and continued to decrease thereafter, eventually becoming negative.17 Poland’s struggles arose from the inability of the government to implement communism and deliver the stable economy that the ideology promised.
Unlike Poland, Tunisia attained consistent GDP growth under Ben Ali. With an annual GDP growth rate of five percent per year, Tunisia was considered the most stable Arab economy. 18 That said, between the years 1980 and 2010, the GDP per capita of the entire Middle Eastern and North African region was lower than that of sub-Saharan Africa and other developing nations.19 Furthermore, growth was localized within specific sectors and areas of the country, with most occurring in the coastal regions where the clothing factories and tourist sites that were the backbone of the Tunisian economy lay.20 Eighty percent of GDP was produced in the north and east, though the population and size of the area was not that much larger than other parts of the country.21 This uneven growth pattern was addressed by the government only after December 2010, once revolution had already begun but before it had fully taken shape.22 While Tunisia did manage to attain growth, it was unevenly distributed across the country, rather than across time, as the Polish economy had been.
Poland’s economy was more unstable than Tunisia’s was in the lead up to the revolutions. Whereas Poland was economically, the worst of its peers, Tunisia was the best. Each country had its own shortcomings though. The fragmented growth in Tunisia created extreme inequality within the country, whereas Poland’s economic woes were manifested countrywide. These growth patterns had tangible repercussion on the lives of citizens in both countries.
The Polish government’s inability to maintain economic growth and the disproportionate growth that occurred during the Ali administration brought severe poverty to citizens in both countries. However, there was significantly higher level of poverty in Poland than in Tunisia. Of the numerous shortages that took place, the lack of food was the most pressing. Poles spent half of their yearly income on food, while government subsidies for it amounted to one-eighth of yearly GDP.23 The scarcity of housing was another dilemma. As a response to the increase in consumerism during the 1950s, the government kept housing costs low.24 But these artificial prices could not mitigate the growing unavailability of homes. According to one Pole, “to receive an apartment you have to wait ten years. A man grows old, he wants to marry.”25 Alcoholism, a common indicator of poor economic conditions within countries, was a growing problem in Eastern Europe since many dissatisfied workers turned to it as the economy shrunk.26 Life expectancy declined from the 1960s to the 1980s.27 A number of issues led to this reduction, including the severe environmental pollution that came with the sudden expansion of industry. 28 After industrializing, Poland relied on its coal exports and agriculture to survive. But prices of natural resources were declining, and countries within the Soviet Bloc traded almost exclusively with each other. Since the domestic economies of all these countries were failing, the demand for imports of Polish goods fell which in turn caused a decline in the demand for workers.29
The severe shortages of basic necessities in Poland and the deteriorating quality of life could be traced to the structure of the command economy, which focused on the quantity and standardization of goods. This emphasis drove down the quality, variety, and number of goods available for consumers. The government allowed only one model of each product to be sold, and the quality of the goods that were made was poor.30 As government did not inspect goods and measured production through means such as weight, businesses could easily bypass the regulations.31 Oftentimes, there were excesses of goods that were entirely useless to consumers as the government did not properly account for regular buying patterns when it restructured the economy. Because officials did not consider which items would be more in demand than others, they improperly allocated production among industries, placing too much emphasis on some and not enough on others.32Approximately one half of the land in Poland had been taken and redistributed by the government after WWII, primarily towards heavy industry and without concern for consumer needs.33 There was no real way for Poland to escape the poverty it faced without completely overhauling the communist system.
Tunisians, on the other had, rarely experienced such severe shortages, though many of them were impoverished. Ben Ali incurred numerous debts as he borrowed money in order to finance the nation’s growth.34 At the same time as the rich were expanding their wealth, the jobless constituted a significant percentage of the population.35 Unemployment levels ran as high as 30 percent in some areas of Tunisia, with the highest rates in the interior. Overall, 14 percent of the population was unemployed.36 In 2010, 7.4 percent of Tunisians lived beneath the poverty line.37 Food prices were rising, costing average Tunisians 36 percent of their annual incomes.38 Those living in the interior, where economic growth was at its lowest, were particularly affected by such increases. Though the government attempted to invest in technology, infrastructure, and
healthcare in order to improve living conditions, it did not improve standards of living to the levels of those in the coastal regions, and people continued to immigrate to the cities, though the authorities wished to stem that flow.39
There was a high degree of poverty in both nations, neither of whose bureaucracies were able to minimize it. However, in Tunisia this situation was largely limited to rural areas, while it proliferated throughout Poland. Not only this, but Poles were also confronted by harsher conditions that Tunisians were. That said, there was greater inequality between Tunisians, a situation that was exacerbated by Ben Ali’s extreme corruption.
Corruption, which was endemic in both governments, created economic inequality, and brought about a sharply distinctive class structures whose makeup was determined by the authorities. This abuse of power by governments highlighted the incompetency to which Brinton referred. Many Poles found that the viable way for them to advance economically and socially was through the party, which would hand out rewards in return for loyalty. Members of the PUWP gained benefits that enabled them to lead better lives than the majority of Poles, despite the fact that total equality was a stated goal of communism.40 The leaders of the party had the power to determine who could become an elite and lead the economic, cultural, and political circles within the country.41 Instead of providing assistance to those who truly needed it, welfare was used as a guise for party favors, and was handed out on the basis of loyalty.42 Non-party members, on the other hand, labored under harsh conditions, with the average factory worker getting about 6.5 hours of sleep per night and not owning his or her home.43 The level of corruption that existed in Poland, however, was far less than that in Tunisia.
For Tunisians the best opportunity to obtain wealth also lay in government work. The country’s economy centered on tourism and manufacturing, and low paying jobs in these
industries oftentimes were the only ones available to citizens.44 They could only secure better pay either by entering the security forces or by obtaining the favor of Ben Ali’s wife Leila and her extended family. Ali was known to funnel money from the treasury to members of his wife’s family.45 Over time, Ben Ali’s family turned into what one American diplomat described as a mafia group.46 His relatives, known as “The Family” within Tunisia, ran more than 180 Tunisian businesses.47 The economic injustice caused by the organized corruption in all corners of life caused deeper resentment in Tunisians compared to the Poles with the former more likely to cite it as a point of contention.
While corruption existed in both countries, Tunisia faced far greater levels of it than Poland. To gain favor in Tunisia, one had to be related to Ben Ali. The PUWP, on the other hand, had a more inclusive form of corruption. Anyone could participate in it, so long as they were loyal to the party. Nonetheless, citizens in both countries vilified their leaders for engaging in it. This inter-class enmity was reminiscent of that which Brinton spoke of in his work.
Brutal Regimes
The ineptness of both governments ultimately gave rise to protest but only after decades spent under their rule. One of the ways in which the PUWP and Ben Ali managed to stay in power was through intimidation. An effective means through which the PUWP and Ben Ali maintained control was by manipulating the law and the people to maintain the status quo.
In order to retain its hold over the government, the PUWP employed a number of manipulative tactics, censoring the public, rigging ballots, and turning to the USSR for aid. Textbooks in Poland were edited to remove any information that would damage the governments’ image, and conversation was similarly restricted. For example, any discussion of the Katyn Forest Massacre, in which the Soviet army carried out the mass execution of a number of Poles,
was banned from conversation.48 The PUWP was able to enact such measures because the USSR’s support gave it complete control over the government.49 Just after the Cold War began, the Polish government, already under communist rule, held a popular vote in what was known as the “Three Times Yes Referendum”. This referendum was intended to increase the power of the PUWP. Poles voted on the location of the country’s official borders, what type of congressional system would be enacted, and, most importantly, whether communism should be included in the constitution. Although all three propositions passed, the votes were found to have been tampered with by the Party, which, in some districts, did not even count them. However, because the USSR backed the results, the vote remained uncontested.50 Such were the means by which the party retained its firm grasp over the country in spite of the dissatisfaction of its citizens. Members of Ennahda, a moderate Islamist political party, were arrested and subject to torture by Ben Ali, who used the excuse that the group was made up of terrorists. 51 In reality, he feared the amount of popular support that they had garnered. An increase in pro-Islamist thinking among the population that occurred since the start of the 2000s gave Ennahda strength and legitimacy. Indeed, after the revolution, the party won a large portion of seats in the Constitutional Assembly.52 Tunisian censorship was less effective than that in Poland as the nature of the Internet enabled people to more easily identify and counteract it. The government attempted to censor anti-government material that appeared in the early days of the revolution, achieving much less success than Polish. Soon after the Tunisian revolution began people began to post their anti-government opinions on blogs and other Internet sites. These pages were later found to have been removed by the government.53 But organizations such as Anonymous, the international group of hacktivists, successfully retaliated against the government by launching “distributed denial of service” attacks on the government’s websites to remove the sites.54 The
government’s attempts at censoring material failed due to popular support for the opposition. Ben Ali was unable to restrain the opposition, despite numerous attempts to do so.
Fearful of threats against them, both regimes attempted to consolidate their power through violence, using security forces to root out potential threats before they could cause real trouble by hunting down people who were vocal in their criticism and either jailing them or placing them under constant surveillance.
In Poland, the main victim of the authorities’ violence was the Catholic Church, which it felt threatened by and hoped to eradicate.55 The Church was a key defender of democracy and the government believed that continued religious freedom would compel people to demand other freedoms as well.56 Attempts to undermine the Church’s authority included forcibly taking and redistributing Church land, and placing members of the clergy under constant watch.57 In the 1950s, Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski was jailed for voicing his opposition to the government.58 Clergymen were even attacked and murdered by the SB, the Polish secret police, for doing so.59 The government also created the state sponsored Polish National Church, which was supposed to replace the Catholic Church.60 These efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, as Poles remained more faithful to the Church than to the government.61 The election of a Pole to the office of Pope was the turning point in the government’s persecution of the Church, especially after Pope John Paul II returned to Poland after being ordained and gave several speeches in favor of freedom.62 The security force that was behind the attacks against the Church also oppressed the civilian population in its role as the main vehicle for regime violence. A countrywide network of spies ensured that all members of society felt its presence. The secret police had many contacts within Polish society, and it was widely believed that few were safe from arrest.63 Citizens resented such intrusiveness, retreating behind closed doors to cope.
Ali similarly oversaw an immense private security force, the Mukhabarat, which he used to pursue those who posed a threat to his rule. Though he did beat back Islamic extremists, religion was not his primary focus. Rather, he targeted and relentlessly assailed his political opponents. Members of the opposition were persecuted through both legal and illegal means. In 2010, the Tunisian parliament passed a law that would hand down prison sentences to those who, in the exact words of the law, “harm[ed] Tunisia’s ‘economic security’.” Because its language was so vague, it enabled the police to arbitrarily arrest people without either just cause or evidence.64 Union leaders were taken into custody for their activities.65 Journalists who vocally opposed the regime were faced with the same fate.66 Faced with certain abuse if they spoke out, opponents of Ben Ali rarely expressed their opinions publicly.
The Mukhabarat used a number of tactics to identify and weed out dissent in the population, employing spies and keeping Internet usage under tight surveillance.67 They had a number of informants, and reached into the daily lives of citizens such as university student Ali Khlifi, who was arrested by police and imprisoned for a year because of a conversation held by friends of a friend of his that was overheard by an informant and during which, antigovernmental language was used68. After his release, Khlifi cited an opinion held by many Tunisians who fear the security forces “If I don’t know you, I don’t speak freely.”69 This was in keeping with the ideas held by Poles, who also found it difficult to escape the security forces in their country.
The Mukhabarat often tortured people who were taken into custody.70 When major riots first broke out in Tunisia, Ben Ali ordered his forces to attack the protestors. Prior to this, he publicly stated that any who participated in the revolution would be punished severely.71 The officers tortured those who were taken into custody to get them to implicate others.72 Tunisian
courts offered no protection from these rights abuses; instead they perpetuated them with sham trials and overly long prison sentences. The majority of people arrested were subject to brief show trials that were held to invoke fear while maintaining a democratic façade.73 The violence in Tunisia was both acknowledged and authorized by the authorities.
Ben Ali and the PUWP employed similar methods to maintain power. Their paranoid persecution of subversive behavior hinted at an awareness that they did not have the popular support that, according to Brinton’s analysis, was needed to legitimately hold power. Neither Tunisians nor Poles could escape the security forces within their respective countries. However, the Mukhabarat was, at least on the surface, more effective than the PUWP at intimidating citizens, though both were powerful and invasive bodies. When it came to the spread of information, however, the PUWP had better success as there was little that the mukhabarat could do to censor the Internet.
The Youth and the Media
Unlike the events of 1989, which were driven by disgruntled Poles of all ages and walks of life, a far larger proportion of dissatisfied youths and professionals participated in the 2011 riots in Tunisia.
Until the Solidarity movement came together, the organizations that existed under communist rule had little autonomy and were used by the government to present a false image of freedom. In 1980, labor representatives met with party members at the Gdansk shipyard in Poland to secure the legal status of unions. Within days, thousands of unions sprang up throughout the country, uniting under the future Polish leader, Lech Walesa, to become the Solidarity movement.74 The presence of so many unions, as well as the large numbers of people involved in them, evidenced widespread dissatisfaction within Poland. Unlike in Tunisia, there
was no one demographic group that stood out as the most actively opposed, as the rate of educational growth was comparatively low through out the Eastern Bloc, though some improvement did occur. Within the Soviet Bloc, the proportion of the population that earned university degrees rose from 2.7 percent to 11 percent within thirty years.75 This growth, however, did not result in the type of youth-driven revolt that occurred in Tunisia. While most Tunisians were disillusioned with their government, the well-educated youth were the most vocal and active in their opposition. In the years between 1980 and 2010, the population of people aged 25-39 years old increased by ten percent.76 By 2010, these people were in the labor force for long enough and had sufficiently high levels of education to recognize the lack of opportunities. Over the years, the government had initiated several successful plans to expand education. This path began during Bourguiba’s reign, during which more than one third of the government’s funds were spent on education. 77 It continued under Ali, who supported education throughout his term.78 This led to significant increases in the number of citizens with higher education: from 1980 to 2010, there was an average increase of approximately four years of education in Tunisia.79 Yet the youth who benefited from these policies were marginalized because of the lack of job opportunities available to them. Forty-five percent of recent graduates could not find work.80 The job market did not mirror the increase in education, with low-level careers remaining the most readily available source of work. Thus, a large number of people who had college educations were forced to work in jobs far below their abilities.81 These people faced the highest levels of unemployment within the nation although they were among the best educated, and those jobs that were available to them were ones for which they were over qualified and which offered no chance for advancement.
Compared to Tunisia, Poland’s revolutionaries came from all different backgrounds. They were not primarily well educated, nor did they have the same issues in terms of jobs. Instead of being too qualified for their jobs, the Polish people were ill prepared for their work, as Poland was suddenly industrialized with little time for worker training. Although much of the countries’ agricultural sector remained unchanged, the policies of the communist party had tangible impacts on its other industries. Coal became a major export, and urbanization increased as a result of the party’s financing of industry.82 They were also less educated and thus less aware of the failures of their governments. Tunisia was far more polarized than Poland was, as the Tunisian youth bore the brunt of the economic troubles in the country.
The political landscape had transformed in the years between the Collapse of Communism and the Jasmine Revolution due to the introduction of a number of new technologies that expanded global connectivity. Not only did the Internet confound Tunisian attempts at censorship, but it also provided a new forum for discussion and for the spread of ideas. Unlike Poles 20 years earlier, Tunisians had access to social media networks that served to both inform and connect them with each other and the world. Despite government attempts to censor material, information was passed along through sites such as Facebook and Twitter, popular among younger Tunisians. Their posts served to inform citizens and organize strikes and protests.83 Ninety-one percent of Tunisian university students visited Facebook daily, and of those, 64 percent stated that Facebook had been their main source of information regarding the events of the revolution.84 The news website Al Jazeera was a leading voice during this time.85 Though government officials attempted to block and remove websites that opposed Ali’s rule, they did not succeed in completely closing off citizens.86 When Tunisians became aware of Western (specifically, American) views on Ben Ali through the Internet, they became more
willing to oppose his leadership.87 Social media and the Web were tools that helped the growing revolution to build up anti governmental sentiment within Tunisia.
In contrast, the PUWP was more successful than Ben Ali at censoring available material since social media and the Internet did not yet exist and thus the government could more easily restrict the flow of information. During the communist era, the consumption of durables such as televisions and radios increased. Shows such as the BBC were Poles’ only sources of information.88 These were limited in their content and did not give people the opportunity to discuss ideas in the way the Internet did. They also provided a one-sided western perspective on the events in the Eastern Bloc. Since the capitalist countries were strongly opposed to communism, the perspective that the Poles were presented with was one that was entirely at odds with the image of communism that they received through their government. The media thus had only a marginal impact on people’s opinions and therefore played a small role in the entire revolution.89
Though occurring in vastly different time periods and locations, the road the countries took prior to their respective revolutions is strikingly similar. Both countries had a record of prior revolts, caused by disgruntled groups of people that suffered under harsh economic conditions and oppressive governments. The populations of both countries united and began a series of antigovernment protests that were aided by organizations that had previously been persecuted by the regimes. These protests resulted in overturning their governments. However, the unique socioeconomic and educational circumstances that the two countries faced created two entirely different revolutions. The use of social media and the Internet changed the way in which protests began and how revolutions happened.
Notes
1 "Poland," World History: The Modern Era, http://puffin.harker.org:2313/Search/Display/317320?terms=poland.
2 Micheal Kinsley, "The Collapse of Communism," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette(Pittsburgh, PA), November 22, 1989, 9 http://puffin.harker.org:2217/america/article?articleId=387701&query=poland#cite.
3Ibid., 9.
4 "Lech Walesa," World History: The Modern Era, http://puffin.harker.org:2313/Search/Display/316173?terms=lech+walesa.
5 "Solidarity," World History: The Modern Era, http://puffin.harker.org:2313/Search/Display/312152?terms=Solidarity.
6 Peter Finn, "Poles View Site of 1989 Talks That Changed Their Nation," The Washington Post, February 12, 199, A27, http://puffin.harker.org:2390/docview/408449097/fulltext?accountid=618.
7"Habib Bourguiba," World History: The Modern Era, http://puffin.harker.org:2313/Search/Display/314478?terms=Habib+Bourguiba.
8Christopher Alexander, "Back from the Democratic Brink: Authoritarianism and Civil Society in Tunisia," Middle East Report 205 (1997): 35, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3013093.
9 Julian Borger, "Tunisian president vows to punish rioters after worst unrest in a decade," The Guardian, last modified December 29, 2010, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/29/tunisian-president-vows-punish-rioters.
10 Eric Goldstein, "Dismantling the Machinery of Oppression," The Wall Street Journal, last modified February 17, 2011, http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748704409004576145671631374778.
11Crane Brinton, The Anatomy of Revolution, rev. and expanded ed. (New York, NY: Vintage Books, 1965), 69-76.
12 David Reynolds, One World Divisible: A Global History since 1945 (New York: W.W. Norton, 2001), 482.
13 Mark Mazower, Dark Continent: Europe's Twentieth Century (New York: A.A. Knopf, 1999), 363-7.
14 Keith John Lepak, Prelude to Solidarity: Poland and the Politics of the Gierek Regime (New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1988), 139.
16 Mazower, Dark Continent: Europe's Twentieth, 367.
17 Ibid., 363.
18 Lahcen Achy, "Tunisia's Economic Challenges," Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, last modified December 2011, http://carnegieendowment.org/files/tunisia_economy.pdf.
19 Alberto Behar and Caroline Freund, "The Trade Performance of the Middle East and North Africa," Forum for Research in Empirical International Trade, last modified July 2011, http://www.eiit.org/WorkingPapers/Papers/TradePatterns/FREIT321.pdf.
20 Christopher Alexander, "Tunisia's protest wave: where it comes from and what it means," Foreign Policy, last modified January 3, 2011, http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/01/02/tunisia_s_protest_wave_where_it_comes_fro m_and_what_it_means_for_ben_ali.
21"Measuring Poverty, Inequalities and Polarization in Tunisia, 2000-2010," African Development Bank Group, last modified November 2012, http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Project-and-Operations/Measuring percent20Poverty percent20Inequalities percent20and percent20Polarization percent20in percent20Tunisia percent202000-2010.PDF.
22 Alexander, "Tunisia's protest wave: where," Foreign Policy.
23 Reynolds, One World Divisible: A Global, 482.
24 Ibid., 164.
25 Mazower, Dark Continent: Europe's Twentieth, 364.
26 Reynolds, One World Divisible: A Global, 540.
27Ibid., 540.
28 Mazower, Dark Continent: Europe's Twentieth, 364.
29 Malgorzata Mazurek and Matthew Hilton, "Consumerism, Solidarity, and Communism: Consumer Protection and the Consumer Movement in Poland,"Journal of Contemporary History 42, no. 2 (April 2007): 316, http://www.jstor.org/stable/30036446.
30 Reynolds, One World Divisible: A Global, 111.
31 Ibid., 111.
32 Mazurek and Hilton, "Consumerism, Solidarity, and Communism," 316.
33 Reynolds, One World Divisible: A Global, 110.
34 Raphael Kempf, "Should Tunisia Pay Ben Ali's Debts?," Jadaliyya, last modified May 14, 2012, http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/5502/should-tunisia-pay-ben-alis-debts.
35 "Measuring Poverty, Inequalities and Polarization," African Development Bank Group.
36 Alexander, "Tunisia's protest wave: where," Foreign Policy.
37 George Joffe, "The Arab Spring in North Africa: origins and prospects," The Journal of North African Studies 16, no. 4 (December 2011): 509, http://www.hoggar.org/index.php?option=com_flexicontent&view=items&cid=578:democratie&id=3080:the-arab-spring-in-north-africa-origins-and-prospects percent20a. percent20EH.
38 Schraeder and Redissi, "Ben Ali’s Fall," 8.
39 Alexander, "Tunisia's protest wave: where," Foreign Policy.
40 Jacek Wasilewski and Edmund Wnuk-Lipiński, "Poland: Winding Road from the Communist to the Post-Solidarity Elite," Theory ad Society 24, no. 5 (October 1995): 679, http://puffin.harker.org:2076/stable/657847?seq=15&Search=yes&searchText=to&searchText=P oland
percent3A&searchText=Winding&searchText=Elite&searchText=Communist&searchText=fro m&searchText=the&searchText=Road&searchText=Post-Solidarity&list=hide&searchUri= percent2Faction percent2FdoBasicSearch percent3FQuery percent3DPoland percent253A percent2BWinding percent2BRoad percent2Bfrom percent2Bthe percent2BCommunist percent2Bto percent2Bthe percent2BPost-Solidarity percent2BElite percent26amp percent3Bacc percent3Don percent26amp percent3Bwc percent3Don percent26amp percent3Bfc percent3Doff&prevSearch=&resultsServiceName=nul.
41 Ibid, 679
42 Ibid., 679
43 Mazower, Dark Continent: Europe's Twentieth, 363.
44 Achy, "Tunisia's Economic Challenges," Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
45 Christopher Alexander, "Tunisia's protest wave: where it comes from and what it means," Foreign Policy, last modified January 3, 2011,
http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/01/02/tunisia_s_protest_wave_where_it_comes_fro m_and_what_it_means_for_ben_ali.
46 Mila Sanina, "WikiLeaks Cables Help Uncover What Made Tunisians Revolt," PBS Newshour, last modified January 25, 2011, http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2011/01/wikileaksreveal-what-made-tunisians-revolt.html.
47 Peter J. Schraeder and Hamadi Redissi, "Ben Ali’s Fall," Journal of Democracy 22, no. 3 (July 2011): 9, doi:878630931.
48 David A. Andelman, "Contempt and Crisis in Poland," International Security 6, no. 3 (1981): 99, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2538608.
49 Moreton, "The Soviet Union and Poland’s," 87.
50 Norman Davies, God's Playground: A History of Poland: Volume II: 1795 to the Present, rev. ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), 2:568.
51 Ibrahim Sharqieh, "Tunisia’s Lessons for the Middle East: Why the First Arab Spring Transition Worked Best," Foreign Affairs, last modified September 17, 2013, http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/139938/ibrahim-sharqieh/tunisias-lessons-for-the-middleeast.
52 Sharqieh, "Tunisia’s Lessons for the Middle," Foreign Affairs.
53 Philip N. Howard et al., "Opening Closed Regimes: What Was the Role of Social Media During the Arab Spring?," Project on Information Technology and Political Islam, http://pitpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/2011_Howard-Duffy-Freelon-Hussain-MariMazaid_pITPI.pdf.
54 Yasmine Ryan, "Tunisia's bitter cyberwar," Aljazeera, last modified January 6, 2011, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/01/20111614145839362.html.
55 Reynolds, One World Divisible: A Global, 234.
56 Ibid., 115.
57 Ibid., 115.
58 Ibid., 115.
59 "1984: Pro-Solidarity priest is murdered," BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/30/newsid_4111000/4111722.stm.
60 Davies, God's Playground: A History, 2:568. 435.
61 Ibid., 2:437.
62 Reynolds, One World Divisible: A Global, 226.
63 "Release of political prisoners in Tunisia is a welcome first step," Amnesty International, last modified January 20, 2011, http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/release-politicalprisoners-tunisia-welcome-first-step-2011-01-20.
64 "Repressive Law Passed," Amnesty International, last modified July 1, 2010, http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE30/014/2010/en/178e518d-8a84-4d7a-942b861d2231e2a6/mde300142010en.pdf.
65 “Tunisia: Stop denying abuse in the face of evidence and growing concern," Amnesty International, last modified July 14, 2010, http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE30/016/2010/en/01acf92f-3155-4279-97886380a4524796/mde300162010en.pdf.
66 "Release of political prisoners," Amnesty International.
67 Yasmine Ryan, "Tunisia's bitter cyberwar," Aljazeera, last modified January 6, 2011, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/01/20111614145839362.html.
68 Schraeder and Redissi, "Ben Ali’s Fall," 9.
69 Ibid., 9.
70 Ibid., 10.
71 Julian Borger, "Tunisian president vows to punish rioters after worst unrest in a decade," The Guardian, last modified December 29, 2010, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/29/tunisian-president-vows-punish-rioters.
72 Disturbing new evidence of Tunisian security forces brutality," Amnesty Intenational, last modified January 27, 2011, http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/disturbing-newevidence-tunisian-security-forces-brutality-2011-01-27.
73 "Release of political prisoners," Amnesty International.
74 Hubert Tworzecki, "Social Democracy in East-Central Europe: Success by Default?," Journal of Policy History 15, no. 1 (2003): 99, http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_policy_history/summary/v015/15.1tworzecki.html.
75 Reynolds, One World Divisible: A Global, 541.
76 Davin Chor and Filipe R. Campante, "Why was the Arab World Poised for Revolution? Schooling, Economic Opportunities, and the Arab Spring," Journal of Economic Perspectives 26, no. 2 (2012): 180, http://wcfia.harvard.edu/files/wcfia/files/rcampante_arab_spring.pdf.
77 Reynolds, One World Divisible: A Global, 305.
78 Alexander, "Tunisia's protest wave: where," Foreign Policy.
79 Chor and Campante, "Why was the Arab," 169.
80 Schraeder and Redissi, "Ben Ali’s Fall," 7-8.
81 Achy, "Tunisia's Economic Challenges," Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
82 Lepak, Prelude to Solidarity: Poland, 87.
83 Howard et al., "Opening Closed Regimes: What," Project on Information Technology and Political Islam.
84 Schraeder and Redissi, "Ben Ali’s Fall," 11.
85 Pelletreau, "Transformation in the Middle," Foreign Affairs.
86 Schraeder and Redissi, "Ben Ali’s Fall," 11.
87 Alexander, "Tunisia's protest wave: where," Foreign Policy.
88 Reynolds, One World Divisible: A Global, 551.
Bibliography
Jones, John Paul, ed. "The Consitution of the Republic of Tunisia." Constitution Finder.1959 with 2002 referendum. Accessed April 14, 2014. http://confinder.richmond.edu/admin/docs/Tunisiaconstitution.pdf.
This is Tunisia's constitution, which it adopted in 1959 and was in practice under Ben Ali. It includes the 2002 referendum that kept Ben Ali in power by increasing the age limit on presidential eligibility from 70 to 75. It comes from the University of Richmond's online Constitution Finder.
Achy, Lahcen. "Tunisia's Economic Challenges." Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Last modified December 2011. http://carnegieendowment.org/files/tunisia_economy.pdf.
Achy talks about the economic challenges that Tunisia faces moving forward, including those that carried over from Ali's regime and those that were caused by the revolution. These include the localization of growth, income inequality, lack of employment, barriers to market entry, taxation that increases economic disparity, high amounts of regulation, lack of technological advancement, and lack of industry.
Lahcen Achy is an economist whose work focuses on the Arab World. He taught at the National Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics in Morocco, the Gambian University of Banjul, the University of Namur, and the Free University. He has worked for the World Bank, the UN, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Economic Commission for Africa. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is a global think tank whose mission is "to advance the cause of peace through analysis and development of fresh policy ideas and direct engagement and collaboration with descision-makers."
African Development Bank Group. "Measuring Poverty, Inequalities and Polarization in Tunisia, 2000-2010." African Development Bank Group. Last modified November 2012. http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Project-andOperations/Measuring%20Poverty%20Inequalities%20and%20Polarization%20in%20Tu nisia%202000-2010.PDF.
The African Development Bank Group, an NGO, reports on the poverty within Tunisia during the 2000s, the decade just before the revolutions. This is a review of data that measures the overall quality of life for Tunisians by looking at statistics such as how many people live within the country. This hard data is useful in providing an unbiased picture of the Tunisian economy.
Alexander, Christopher. "Back from the Democratic Brink: Authoritarianism and Civil Society in Tunisia." Middle East Report 205 (1997): 34-38. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3013093.
Written in 1997, far before the revolution, this article charts the course Ben Ali took, from his image as the reformer to an oppressive ruler. Alexander writes about how he did it, as well as why the Tunisians allowed it to happen. Michael Christopher Alexander is a professor of political science at Davidson College, where he is also the McGee Director of the Dean Rusk International Studies Program and associate dean of international programs.
———. "Tunisia's protest wave: where it comes from and what it means." Foreign Policy. Last modified January 3, 2011.
http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/01/02/tunisia_s_protest_wave_where_it_co mes_from_and_what_it_means_for_ben_ali.
A major focus of this article, written before Ben Ali's overthrow but after the start of protests in Tunisia, is on the economic situation of Tunisia and of how Ben Ali's regime deteriorated over time. It mentions the makeup of the protestors, who included lawyers and activists as well as unemployed youths. Alexander talks about how even though Ali was always autocratic, he was originally more discreet in his methods. Additionally, Ali was a capable ruler, who managed to increase education, reduce religious extremism, and improve the economy. But he had always been repressive and coercive, and used internal security forces to his benefit. With the increase of social media, the public became better informed about his actions and felt that he was disconnected from the public. Additionally, there was much economic disparity, with most growth occurring in the north and east. Much of the country's income comes from the tourist industry, as well as from manufacturing, neither of which requires much training or skill. These were oftentimes the only jobs available to people who had university educations, something that fueled their anger.
Michael Christopher Alexander is a professor of political science at Davidson College, where he is also the McGee Director of the Dean Rusk International Studies Program and associate dean of international programs.
Amnesty International. "Repressive Law Passed." Amnesty International. Last modified July 1, 2010. http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE30/014/2010/en/178e518d-8a844d7a-942b-861d2231e2a6/mde300142010en.pdf.
This press release is about a law passed by Tunisia's parliament that would give a prison sentence to people accused of "harming Tunisia’s 'economic security'," an arbitrary crime that, according to Amnesty, is targeted at human rights activists. Amnesty International is an independent activist organization that "campaign[s] to end grave abuses of human rights" worldwide.
———. "Tunisia: Stop denying abuse in the face of evidence and growing concern." Amnesty International. Last modified July 14, 2010. http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE30/016/2010/en/01acf92f-3155-42799788-6380a4524796/mde300162010en.pdf.
This is an open letter from 2010 that is directly addressed to Tunisia. In it, Amnesty International responds to Tunisian authorities' denial of its prior reports (Independent Voices Stifled in Tunisia) by pointing out that numerous cases of human rights abuses in Tunisia have been documented, claiming that it and other activist organizations are being kept from freely acting, and highlighted specific cases of human rights abuse. For example, union leaders Adnan Hajji, Bechir Laabidi, Adel Jayar, and Tayeb Ben Othman served prison time after having show trials. It goes on to note that international opinion turned its favour from the government to the people. Amnesty International is an independent activist organization that "campaign[s] to end grave abuses of human rights" worldwide.
Amnesty International Limited. "Disturbing new evidence of Tunisian security forces brutality." Amnesty International. Last modified January 27, 2011. http://www.amnesty.org/en/formedia/press-releases/disturbing-new-evidence-tunisian-security-forces-brutality-2011-0127.
In this press release, Amnesty International reveals information that its researchers have found about crimes committed by the Tunisian security forces under Ben Ali during his last few weeks as president, particularly the arrest, torture, and murder of innocent protestors. It specifies what the police forces would to to those in custody, such as physically assaulting them with batons. Amnesty International is an independent activist organization that "campaign[s] to end grave abuses of human rights" worldwide.
———. "Release of political prisoners in Tunisia is a welcome first step." Amnesty International. Last modified January 20, 2011. http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/releasepolitical-prisoners-tunisia-welcome-first-step-2011-01-20. Here Amnesty International talks about the people who were arrested as political prisoners under Ben Ali, such as journalist Fahem Boukadous after their release. It mentions the unfair trials these people underwent, as well as the oppression and surveillance they were subject to under Ali. Amnesty International is an independent activist organization that "campaign[s] to end grave abuses of human rights" worldwide.
———. "Tunisia must act decisively to break with Ben Ali's legacy of abuse." Amnesty International. Last modified January 24, 2011. http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-andupdates/tunisia-must-act-decisively-break-ben-alis-legacy-abuse-2011-01-24.
In this release, Amnesty outlines its recommendations for Tunisia as it moves forward after the revolution. They are specifically referring to the repression that existed under Ben Ali in the form of torture, rush trials, biased judges in danger of losing their positions, laws that restrict rights, and restrictions on and surveillance of political prisoners and opponents. Additionally, it mentions that people of certain positions stood outside the law and discrimination based on income and work was widespread. Amnesty International is an independent activist organization that "campaign[s] to end grave abuses of human rights" worldwide.
Andelman, David A. "Contempt and Crisis in Poland." International Security 6, no. 3 (1981): 90-103. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2538608.
Written ten years before the 1989 overthrow of communism in Poland, the purpose of this article is to asses the causes of earlier protests, or the 1980 start of the Polish crisis. It focuses on Solidarity and the manner in which Poland’s communist party has lost power. This happened slowly, beginning during the supposed stability of Gomulka’s time, when the Solidarity movement was formed. This union managed to persist despite Soviet attempts to undermine its power and many party members joined it. Its right to strike, as stated in the Gdansk agreement, was a key tool it used in opposing the state. Many Eastern countries depended on Poland’s coal for fuel, and when production decreased there was concern over how it would affect other countries. When the true state of the economy in comparison with those in the West came to light, the public became more
openly critical of the government, which by this point was fearful of losing its grasp and began to impose martial law to try and keep the state in check. Originally, none of the protestors planned on Poland leaving the Warsaw Pact. Rather, they focused on Poland’s militarization, censorship, and the activities of the secret police and the role of the party. Throughout this crisis, Poland’s leadership changed hands multiple times. David A. Andelman is the editor of the World Policy Journal and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
The BBC. "1984: Pro-Solidarity priest is murdered." BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/30/newsid_4111000/4111722.st m.
This BBC news article from 1984 is a report on the murder of a pro-solidarity priest, an example of the brutality of the Polish security force which highlights the fact that the Church was targeted by the PUWP.
Behar, Alberto, and Caroline Freund.
"The Trade Performance of the Middle East and North Africa." Forum for Research in Empirical International Trade. Last modified July 2011.
http://www.eiit.org/WorkingPapers/Papers/TradePatterns/FREIT321.pdf.
Freund, a fellow, former chief economist for the World Bank's Middle East and North Africa (MENA) department and IMF economist, and Behar, also an economist at the IMF, present their findings about the MENA region's growth patterns over the decade. They compare these with those of the rest of the world, and explain the structural reasoning behind these patterns, showing the effect that government's policies had on the economies.
Borger, Julian. "Tunisian president vows to punish rioters after worst unrest in a decade." The Guardian. Last modified December 29, 2010. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/29/tunisian-president-vows-punish-rioters.
Borger outlines the path that the revolution has taken, as well as summarizing the cracks within the Ali administration. He reports on the event that sparked the revolution, the self-immolation of the college educated vegetable vendor Mohammed Bouazizi, the lack of political opportunity, disparity between education (1/3 of Tunisian youths are college grads) and economic opportunity, suppressing of dissent, and how the international repression fueled Tunisia's economic problems. Julian Borger is the diplomatic editor of The Guardian and was a former Middle Eastern correspondent.
Brinton, Crane. The Anatomy of Revolution. Rev. and expanded ed. New York, NY: Vintage Books, 1965.
American Historian Crane Brinton presents his theory on revolution, outlining the paths that they take. His separates these paths into multiple phases, the first two of which discuss the circumstances that he believes must be present for a revolution to occur. This book serves as a point of reference for future analysis of revolutions.
Chor, Davin, and Filipe R. Campante. "Why was the Arab World Poised for Revolution? Schooling, Economic Opportunities, and the Arab Spring." Journal of Economic Perspectives 26, no. 2 (2012): 167-88.
http://wcfia.harvard.edu/files/wcfia/files/rcampante_arab_spring.pdf.
This article goes into detail about the educational system and labor market in the Arab world and how it led to the revolt because of increases political awareness and participation. They address topics such as the age demographics of the countries (less people age adolescent to 25 in Tunisia) by looking into the ages of the protestors and dividing education-economic circumstance regression analysis by age. Additionally, they look into why revolutions occurred in the Middle East but not in areas of the world with similar governmental systems. Filipe R. Campante is an Associate Professor of Public Policy at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and Davin Chor is a professor of economics at the Singapore Management University.
Davies, Norman. God's Playground: A History of Poland: Volume II: 1795 to the Present. Rev. ed. Vol. 2. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
In this condensed history of Poland from 1795 to the modern day, British historian Dr. Norman Davies focuses on the cultural history of the country. In particular, he describes the ways in which the PUWP attempted to repress the population and the Church.
Finn, Peter. "Poles View Site of 1989 Talks That Changed Their Nation." The Washington Post, February 12, 199, A27.
http://puffin.harker.org:2390/docview/408449097/fulltext?accountid=618.
Peter Finn, a correspondent for the Washington Post who has spent time in Poland after the revolution, discusses the Roundtable talks in this piece. He reports on their reaction to the events, and describes what they were and their importance in the revolution. This article gives the Polish perspective of the events in Poland, unlike the other articles, most of which were written by observers from their own viewpoints.
Goldstein, Eric. "Dismantling the Machinery of Oppression." The Wall Street Journal. Last modified February 17, 2011.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748704409004576145671631374778.
In this article, Goldstein explore the role of the police under Ben Ali, focusing on how it was one of the best jobs available to people. He also talks about how Ali allowed certain activist groups to barely exist to keep up a façade as a ruler who was concerned about civil rights. Eric Goldstein is the deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa Division of the Human Rights watch, a human rights advocacy group.
Guitta, Olivier. "Where Spring Was Sprung; Tunisia and its jihadists." The Weekly Standard, September 2, 2013. GALE|A341702983.
"Habib Bourguiba." World History: The Modern Era. http://puffin.harker.org:2313/Search/Display/314478?terms=Habib+Bourguiba. This is a biography of Habib Bourguiba, who had been the leader of Tunisia before being ousted by Ben Ali.
Howard, Philip N., Aiden Duffy, Deen Freelon, Muzammil Hussain, Will Mari, and Marwa Mazaid. "Opening Closed Regimes: What Was the Role of Social Media During the Arab Spring?" Project on Information Technology and Political Islam. http://pitpi.org/wpcontent/uploads/2013/02/2011_Howard-Duffy-Freelon-Hussain-Mari-Mazaid_pITPI.pdf.
This paper discusses the role of social media in the Arab Spring. From spreading information government abuses to serving as a location for political debate, mass media had a major impact on the revolutions. Protests were organized through it, and sites such as Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter were used by a number of well-educated young people both within and outside the country to spread ideas about democracy and to inform people about the revolution. Philip N. Howard is a professor at the University of Washington and director of the World Information Access project. The University of Washington’s Project on Information Technology and Political Islam (PITPI) is a project that looks into the relationship between technology and politics in the Middle East. It is funded by Intel, the Center for Communication and Civic Engagement, and the National Science foundation.
Independent Voices Stifled in Tunisia http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE30/008/2010/en/844cd767-a21e-4b3ea643-9a8b1554da52/mde300082010en.pdf.
In this report, Amnesty International alleges that human rights activists and others like them are continually harassed by the government and restricted in their activities, mentioning specific people who face this repression, such as Ali Ben Salem. They explain how the government manages to prevent such activity. For example by sending pro-government agents into the organizations and using security forces to prevent them from meeting. Additionally, smear campaigns, surveillance, economic laws (taxes etc...), assaults, and the justice system are all used to restrict potential activists or protestors. In each case, the group gives an instance where the government has used these tactics. Amnesty International is an independent activist organization that "campaign[s] to end grave abuses of human rights" worldwide.
Joffe, George. "The Arab Spring in North Africa: origins and prospects." The Journal of North African Studies 16, no. 4 (December 2011): 507-32. http://www.hoggar.org/index.php?option=com_flexicontent&view=items&cid=578:demo cratie-&id=3080:the-arab-spring-in-north-africa-origins-and-prospects%20a.%20EH.
Joffe compares the revolutions in different parts of the Arab World, explaining the key differences between them. He talks about how the demonstrations in Tunisia, though apparently spontaneous, had actually begun over acts such as the increase of food prices and how there was general dissatisfaction with Ben Ali. He was never entirely able to oppress his people; as such groups as the UGTT were able to withstand his tactics. Further, though authoritarian, Ali was considered a liberal and was vehemently antiIslamist. Therefore, his rule had originally been accepted by the people, meaning that he had never before been widely opposed before 2010. And Tunisia had long been a constitutional country, so there was a strong backlash when he attempted to undermine the existing constitution. Because of his fear of an army coup, Ali ensured that the
military had little power and was apolitical, meaning that it would not come to his aid. George Joffe is a research fellow and professor at Kings College in London.
Kempf, Raphael. "Should Tunisia Pay Ben Ali's Debts?" Jadaliyya. Last modified May 14, 2012. http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/5502/should-tunisia-pay-ben-alis-debts.
Journalist Raphael Kempf questions whether or not the debt that Ben Ali incurred should be paid off by Tunisians after the revolution. This discussion of how this debt came into existence and the reasons why they should not have to take charge of illuminates the inner workings of the regime.
Kinsley, Micheal. "The Collapse of Communism." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA), November 22, 1989, 9. http://puffin.harker.org:2217/america/article?articleId=387701&query=poland#cite.
In this news article, written just after the revolutions of 1989, journalist and pundit Michael Kinsley reports on the fall of communism in Poland. He notes that some had had faith in the communist system, and claims that this never could have happened in reality. This article gives us the perspective that Western observers had during the events of the revolution.
"Lech Walesa." World History: The Modern Era http://puffin.harker.org:2313/Search/Display/316173?terms=lech+walesa.
This database entry is a brief biography of Lech Walesa, the leader of Solidarity and the first president of Poland after the democratization of the country.
Lepak, Keith John. Prelude to Solidarity: Poland and the Politics of the Gierek Regime. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1988.
Professor Keith Lepak's book focuses specifically on the years when Edward Gierek was the leader of the PUWP, just before Solidarity came into existence. He talks about the cracks in the Gierek administration and the policy issues that he had. One of the most important struggles that Gierek faced was the debt that he incurred. Lepak goes into detail about this and how the economy of Poland was affected by his borrowing.
Mazower, Mark. Dark Continent: Europe's Twentieth Century. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1999. This description of the democratic transitions that occurred in Europe during the 20th century focuses on the role that the people of the countries in which they took place played in them, rather than on the situation within the country. However, Mazower, a British historian, lists numerous reasons for the populations' outrage.
Mazurek, Malgorzata, and Matthew Hilton. "Consumerism, Solidarity, and Communism: Consumer Protection and the Consumer Movement in Poland." Journal of Contemporary History 42, no. 2 (April 2007): 315-43. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30036446. This paper discusses the role consumption played in communist Poland. A popular idea is that a major reason that war broke out in Poland was that the socialist system could not keep up with the demands of consumption. Many people used consumption as a means of opposing the government, as they were unable to vote. The authors write about how the
state tended to ignore the needs of the consumer and how this caused consumer agencies to be formed. Those agencies’ agendas soon turned to civil liberties as the internationalization of democracy occurred. Malgorzata Mazurek is a postdoctoral history research scholar at Columbia’s Heyman Center for the Humanities. Matthew Hilton is a professor of social history at the University of Birmingham.
Moreton, Edwina. "The Soviet Union and Poland’s Struggle for Self-Control." International Security 7, no. 1 (1982): 86-104. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2538690.
Moreton is attempting to determine whether or not foreign intervention into Poland is necessary by looking at the soviet response to Poland’s unrest. Poland was considered a stable communist country by the Soviet Union, partly because of its location (surrounded by communist countries) and partly because of its centrality to the USSR. The majority of the population was badly trained to do their jobs and were not entirely loyal communists. After years of having a strong military presence, the Soviets left after the tensions caused began to outweigh the advantages. Events such as the Katyn Forest Massacre, in which the military murdered many civilians, had created an impression of Soviet violence, though such events were strictly censured. There had been periodic outbreaks of unrest for decades after WWII. Most of these were controlled through intimidation and threats of Soviet invasion. Though the Soviets and the communist party have tried multiple tactics to restrain Poland, the majority of these failed, and the communist party itself was divided. Edwina Moreton was a journalist for Foreign Affairs and is a member of the European Advisory Group of Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
Pelletreau, Robert H. "Transformation in the Middle East: Comparing the Uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, and Bahrain." Foreign Affairs. Last modified February 24, 2011. http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/67546/robert-h-pelletreau/transformation-in-themiddle-east.
This article talks about how Tunisia seemed more stable than the other Middle Eastern countries because of its lower levels of unemployment, education system, and low army spending but the problems that Ben Ali faced, coupled with other special circumstances, caused it to be the first to rebel. Ben Ali's issues, namely his health, seclusion from governmental agencies, and corruption, made him a inadequate ruler who could easily be overthrown. He was so weak that he was unable to get the military to fire on protestors. Additionally, though Tunisia had lower levels of unemployment as compared to other countries in the Arab World, the levels were still high and many of those who were searching for jobs had better education and were therefore more frustrated and ready to revolt, especially in the face of oppression. Pelletreau also touches on the role that the media played in increasing public anger and the United States' response to the revolution. Robert Pelletreau was the US Ambassador to Tunisia from 1987 to 1991 and from 1994 to 1997 served as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs.
"Poland." World History: The Modern Era. http://puffin.harker.org:2313/Search/Display/317320?terms=poland. This database entry is a brief history of Poland.
Reynolds, David. One World Divisible: A Global History since 1945. New York: W.W. Norton, 2001.
British historian and Cambridge professor David Reynolds presents a thorough history of the world beginning with the start of WWII. He identifies common themes that were present in different areas of the world, such as an increase in consumerism at the end of the war. This provides a historical context for the revolutions in Poland, points out some of the struggles within the country, and gives an overview of key aspects of Bourgiba's reign, such as the focus on education during his time in office.
Ryan, Yasmine. "Tunisia's bitter cyberwar." Aljazeera. Last modified January 6, 2011. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/01/20111614145839362.html.
This article highlights the government's efforts to stifle citizens by explaining how it shut down the social media pages of those who wrote about it in a negative light.
Yasmin Ryan is a reporter for Al-Jazeera, a major news outlet in the Middle East and one that played a prominent role in the revolutions by inciting public outrage with its articles on topics such as governmental corruption.
Sanina, Mila. "WikiLeaks Cables Help Uncover What Made Tunisians Revolt." PBS Newshour. Last modified January 25, 2011. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2011/01/wikileaks-reveal-what-made-tunisiansrevolt.html.
This news article refers to a cable published by Wikileaks that discussed on the rampant corruption in the Ben Ali administration and that angered a large number of Tunisians after it came to light. In the cable, the US Embassy refers to Ali's wife, Leila, and the wealth she and her family (labeled :the Family") illegally amassed, as well as the special treatment given to them.
Schraeder, Peter J., and Hamadi Redissi. "Ben Ali's Fall." Journal of Democracy 22, no. 3 (July 2011): 5-19. doi:878630931.
Professors Schraeder and Redissi take a critical look at Ben Ali's administration, looking at the cracks that formed and brought about the revolution.Their analysis encompasses many of the failures of his regime that led to his fall, including the role of the security forces, and gives a birds eye look at his time in office, painting a clear picture of it. Included in the paper are examples this force.
Sharqieh, Ibrahim. "Tunisia’s Lessons for the Middle East: Why the First Arab Spring Transition Worked Best." Foreign Affairs. Last modified September 17, 2013. http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/139938/ibrahim-sharqieh/tunisias-lessons-for-themiddle-east.
Researcher, professor of conflict resolution at Georgetown, and contributor Sharqieh argues in this article that Tunisia's post revolutionary transition has had the most success out of all of those that occurred in the Arab Spring, noting the cultural reasons for this. He also mentions some of the challenges that the country has had. He talks about how those that Ben Ali had persecuted during his regime came into power after he left. This works as a comparison between the revolution in Tunisia and those in other countries. It
also provides insight into the culture of Tunisia and its government under Ben Ali as it discusses how the bureaucracy managed the transition.
"Solidarity." World History: The Modern Era.
http://puffin.harker.org:2313/Search/Display/312152?terms=Solidarity.
This database history is a description of the Solidarity movement and talks about how it came into existence and gained power, as well as who the major figures in it were.
Tworzecki, Hubert. "Social Democracy in East-Central Europe: Success by Default?" Journal of Policy History 15, no. 1 (2003): 94-112.
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_policy_history/summary/v015/15.1tworzecki.htm l.
Tworzecki provides a historical context to democracy in Poland long after the revolutions have occurred. He writes about how the party system had vanished long before 1989, and that a large part of the population was participating in anti-government organizations, particularity Solidarity. Much of Solidarity’s success came from its place as the chamion of the people, who were united against the party, and the willingness of Poles to voice there political opinions. A reduction in tactics such as surveillance and repression led to a weakening of communist ideological acceptance and an increase in political expressiveness. Much of the movement was led by university students and industrial workers, who had ideological and economic concerns, respectively. Hubert Tworzecki is an associate Professor at Emory University’s Department of Political Science.
Wasilewski, Jacek, and Edmund Wnuk-Lipiuski. "Poland: Winding Road from the Communist to the Post-Solidarity Elite." Theory ad Society 24, no. 5 (October 1995): 669-96. http://puffin.harker.org:2076/stable/657847?seq=15&Search=yes&searchText=to&search Text=Poland%3A&searchText=Winding&searchText=Elite&searchText=Communist&s earchText=from&searchText=the&searchText=Road&searchText=PostSolidarity&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DPoland% 253A%2BWinding%2BRoad%2Bfrom%2Bthe%2BCommunist%2Bto%2Bthe%2BPostSolidarity%2BElite%26amp%3Bacc%3Don%26amp%3Bwc%3Don%26amp%3Bfc%3D off&prevSearch=&resultsServiceName=null.
Wasilewski and Wnuk-Lipiuski, both Polish professors, discuss the changes in the social organization of Poland that took place during the post-communist transition. They describe that which had existed under the PUWP, who had instituted a class system based on favoritism. They look at an aspect of life in communist Poland that is often glossed over by other articles, which seem to have been written with the assumption that the equality that the communism system promised actually existed.