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A mixed-methods assessment of civil political culture during a democratic transition. The case of Tunisian civil society organisations

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Abstract

Democratisation theory has stressed the importance of active civil society participation (Schedler in J Democr 9: 91–107, 1998), (Diamond in Developing democracy: toward consolidation, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1999). This article uses Democratisation theory to argue that for civil society to have a positive impact on a state's democratisation process from a minimalist or electoral democracy to a pluralistic liberal system, it must have and exhibit a political culture conducive for supporting and promoting democratic ideals: a civic political culture (CPC). Welch’s conceptualisation of political culture (2013) determines that the latter manifests dualistically as discourse and practice. Therefore, this paper argues that to examine and test the extent to which a civil society’s political culture is democratic, a research approach that captures both the practises and discourses of political culture is essential. This article contributes to political culture research by advancing an effective application of Welch’s theory. Through a mixed-methods research design, this paper bridges the positivist-interpretivist methodological gap characteristic of political culture research. The application of the mixed-methods approach produces results with greater nuance and validity and provides evidence that post-2011 Tunisian civil society organisations (CSOs) are developing CPC.

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Notes

  1. Freedom House (2011) Freedom in the World. Tunisia. Available at https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2011/tunisia.

  2. Freedom House (2017) Freedom in the World. Tunisia. Available at https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2017/tunisia.

  3. Jisc online surveys. Available at https://www.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/.

  4. Arab Barometer (2013) Tunisia, Survey Report II. Available at http://www.arabbarometer.org/content/arab-barometer-ii-tunisia [accessed 09/12/2013].

    BBC Media Action (2013) Audience Survey, Tunisia, Available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaaction/publicationsandpress/research_summary_tunisia_october2013.html [accessed 11/12/2013].

    Freedom House (2009). Tunisia 2009 country report. Available at https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2009/tunisia#.Vbn5hEZwaUk [accessed 12/5/2013].

    Gallup Survey (2011). Tunisia: Analyzing the Dawn of the Arab Spring. Available at http://www.gallup.com/poll/157049/tunisia-analyzing-dawn-arab-spring.aspx [accessed 11/12/2013].

    Human Rights Watch (2013). World Report 2013: Tunisia Events of 2012. Available at http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2013/country-chapters/tunisia?page=1 [accessed 10/6/2013] Pew (2012) Most Muslims Want Democracy, Personal Freedoms, and Islam in Political Life: Few Believe U.S. Backs Democracy. Available at http://www.pewglobal.org/2012/07/10/most-muslims-want-democracy-personal-freedoms-and-islam-in-political-life/ [accessed 13/12/2013].

    Pew Global (2014). Tunisian Confidence in Democracy Wanes. Available at.

    http://www.pewglobal.org/2014/10/15/tunisian-confidence-in-democracy-wanes/ [accessed 22/10/2015].

  5. Jamaity: La plateforme de la société civile tunisienne. Available at https://jamaity.org/.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Mediterranean Institute of Technology, South Mediterranean University, Les Berges du Lac II, Tunis, Tunisia

    Alexander P. Martin

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  1. Alexander P. Martin
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Correspondence to Alexander P. Martin.

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Appendices

Appendix A—quantitative survey results

Section 2: Tolerance

figure a

Section 3: Equality

figure b
figure c

Section 4: Freedom

figure d
figure e

Section 5: Pluralism

figure f

Section 6: Trust

figure g

Section 7: Democratic practices

figure h

Section 8: Financial transparency

figure i

Section 9: Your CSO

figure j
figure k

Section 10: What is desirable?

figure l

Appendix B—Structured interview questions for a tunisian CSO leader

About your CSO

  1. 1.

    Can you tell me about your organisation? What are your objectives/goals, and how you operate?

  2. 2.

    How effective is the informal politics/non-governmental sector in Tunisia?

  3. 3.

    Is your CSO independent or is it affiliated with any other state or non-state body?

  4. 4.

    How collaborative is the work within your CSO?

  5. 5.

    How do you think the staff would describe the leadership and management of your CSO?

  6. 6.

    Do you collaborate with other CSOs? Have you worked with CSOs who have differing aims/differing objectives from yours?

  7. 7.

    Can CSOs with different objectives work together for a common purpose?

Democratic practices

  1. 8.

    What do you think motivates people to engage with and participate in civil society activism?

  2. 9.

    In business and politics all over the world, sometimes favours are granted to relatives regardless of their abilities. Do you think this practice is also common among Tunisian CSOs?

  3. 10.

    How did you get this position/ get your job?

Relations with the government

  1. 11.

    How would you describe Civil Society’s relationship with the government?

  2. 12.

    How have CSOs been contributing to debates over the constitution? How have CSOs been contributing to laws over freedom of association and freedom of expression?

  3. 13.

    Does your CSO work with the government?

  4. 14.

    To what extent do you feel free to operate in Tunisian society?

  5. 15.

    Have you ever felt the pressure from governmental departments/religious institutions/other CSOs to modify your course of action?

Funding

  1. 16.

    Does Tunisian Civil Society sector receive sufficient funding?

  2. 17.

    How does your CSO fund its activities? How financially open is your CSO?

  3. 18.

    Do you receive a salary for your work with this CSO?

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Martin, A.P. A mixed-methods assessment of civil political culture during a democratic transition. The case of Tunisian civil society organisations. Qual Quant 55, 2189–2218 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-021-01103-z

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