The award of the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize to the National Dialogue Quartet comprising the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA), the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH) and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers, is richly deserved. This quartet of civil society institutions, that came together in 2013, had managed tortuous political negotiations for a consensus-based Constitution and a transition to a robust democracy in Tunisia. The UGTT in particular played a pivotal role, after massive protests erupted in 2013 against the Ennahda-led government. These followed the political assassination of left-wing dissidents and moves by the government to pack the independent bureaucracy with members of the ancien régime. The transition in Tunisia has been unique among the countries that experienced similar change. Tunisia was the site of the first set of popular uprisings in 2011, which came to be known as the Jasmine Revolution and triggered similar protests across the Arab world in what was termed the Arab Spring. Egypt saw the return of a “managed democracy” with a military leader coming to power following a political coup against the popularly elected but increasingly authoritarian Muslim Brotherhood-led government. Libya’s uprising threatened to turn bloody, leading to the intervention of NATO, and following the death of Muammar Qadhafi that country descended into anarchy. Syria’s woes have been well-documented.
Democratisation, as India’s own history shows, is invariably a slow and tortuous process. Its success is predicated by the strength of civil society organisations, the legitimacy of political organisations, and the forbearance and foresight of exceptional individuals who are willing to look beyond the immediate and the expedient. The UGTT has a long history, having been formed in 1946. Its members constitute five per cent of the country’s population. Its clout as an economic bargaining entity, its widespread presence in Tunisia and its leaders’ extensive experience in the art of negotiations, helped bring political parties to agree to a new political road map in 2013. This led to the creation of a largely progressive Constitution in January 2014 and to parliamentary elections in October 2014. Legitimacy was accorded to the UGTT’s negotiating role by the other members of the Quartet, which have also had a historical presence. The lesson from the story of Tunisia’s unique success in the post-Arab Spring set of events in the Arab world is that a robust civil society with organised labour power as a pivot has an important role to play in any process of democratisation. Neither external intervention nor sporadic outbursts of street protests would do for that. The Nobel Committee must be commended for recognising this fact.
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