Tunisia: The Story of a Country That Works

Rating:
Summary: A personal appreciation; a political history and assessment
Review: I received this book as a gift. The book's subtitle is the key: "A country that works". By that is meant a country that functions well. Ms. Geyer reviews the recent history of Tunisia as led first by Habib Bourgiba and now by Ben-Ali, leaders who have carefully set up policies and investments (e.g. investment in girls' education) designed to raise the country from a poor agricultural French colony to a successful independent nation, reaching out to participate as a player in the European economy. The theme of the book is that true democracy - not just elections but stability and human rights - is very difficult to establish, requiring an educated populace, a sizable middle class, and a certain amount of mutual trust across the society - which have to be in place before elections; in this context, Tunisia's leaders have been carefully building these prerequisites and Tunisia stands out as an ongoing success against a background of failed efforts - including, so far, the effort in Iraq - to establish democracy by magic (or other) bullets. The book will reveal that Ms. Geyer has an affection for Tunisia and Tunisians, but I think her assessment is not bad - my daughter, her Tunisian husband, and her two children live in Tunisia (and all of them speak in English and Arabic) and Geyer's assessment is confirmed by our experiences there as well as many discussions about the matters raised in the book.