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Alessandra Bonci is a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at Laval University (Québec, Canada) and a Research Associate with the Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche sur l’Afrique et le Moyen-Orient (CIRAM). Her research focuses on Political Islam. She is currently writing her dissertation on the role of Salafi parties in the newborn Tunisian democracy. She published a review article on Mediterranean Politics, and other book chapters are forthcoming.
Diaspora Activism in France and Italy and Tunisia’s Democratic Transition
Scholar Charles Tilly does not believe that social capital can, by itself, build democracy. In fact, according to Tilly, citizens lacking favorable environmental and historical conditions — even if highly engaged — cannot establish a democracy. If establishing democratic institutions is such an arduous task for citizens living under dictatorship, what political leverage do those living in the diaspora possess? This article explores how the Tunisian diasporas in Italy and France have sought to help implement the transition to democracy.
