Tool of rule : the Tunisian police under Ben Ali

Abstract

Tunisia under its long-time ruler Zine Abidine Ben Ali was considered a police state par excellence. However, while the role of the Tunisian police as a key pillar of Ben Ali’s authoritarian regime has been commonly acknowledged, analyses of the systemic or structural features of the country’s internal security apparatus have thus far been rather limited. This article examines the main characteristics of the Tunisian police system and their relationship to Ben Ali’s autocratic rule. These include its opacity and lack of formal regulation, its instrumentalisation by the central power, the broad and politicised definition of police functions, the combination of centralisation and fragmentation of the police, as well as its permeation with cronyism and corruption, all of which were instrumental in sustaining the Ben Ali regime.