Egypt and Tunisia represent opposite ends of the spectrum in the evolution of their politics since the Arab Spring, U.S. Institute of Peace Vice President and former Ambassador Bill Taylor told a government panel this week. “Tunisia has demonstrated remarkable maturity and commitment to the ideal of political inclusiveness,” Taylor said. “Egypt has not.”

taylor testifying

Taylor provided his analysis  and recommendations at a July 9 hearing on “Political Pluralism in the OSCE Mediterranean Partners,” conducted by the United States Helsinki Commission. The commission, an independent agency of the U.S. government, is also known as the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). The Vienna-based OSCE (the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, of which the U.S. is a member) maintains partnerships with Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia to advance human rights and security. The region has been beset for more than three years by a series of uprisings that mostly devolved into chaos and violence.

Despite the upheaval, the region “remains vital to protect the national interest,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Egypt and Maghreb Affairs William Roebuck, who also testified at the hearing.

Since a similar Helsinki Commission hearing in 2009, the OSCE has provided election observers for the region, exchanges for young diplomats from those countries to work in the OSCE’s secretariat, dialogue opportunities for civil society leaders and informational materials on human rights and other topics that are translated into Arabic, said commission Co-Chairman Senator Benjamin Cardin of Maryland.

Representative Alcee Hastings of Florida, the ranking House member on the panel, said the popular uprisings “have shown the need for capacity development among the youthful population of the region.”

OSCE could extend its effective work on promoting democracy and human rights in the region with more work on media freedom, good governance and civil society, Roebuck said.

Lessons for strategy

The divergent cases of post-revolution Tunisia and Egypt can inform U.S. and international strategies for the region, Taylor told the Commission. Expressing his own views because USIP doesn’t take policy positions, Taylor recommended increasing support for Tunisia “as they continue to demonstrate that political pluralism is compatible with Islamic societies and is the formula for a successful transition to democracy.”

“This assistance should include financial support from Western governments, international financial institutions and the international private sector,” said Taylor, who previously coordinated assistance to Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria as special coordinator for Middle East Transitions at the State Department. He currently serves as USIP’s vice president for the Middle East and Africa.

Taylor also recommended the U.S. negotiate a free-trade agreement with Tunisia, and that the U.S. and Europe increase opportunities for Tunisian students to study abroad.

Support to Tunisia could help extend and solidify the progress the country’s political and civic leaders have made since early 2013, when work on a new constitution stalled and the assassination of a prominent opposition party member, Chokri Belaid, underscored the continuing instability under the moderate Islamist government elected in 2012.

Civil society played a crucial role in helping pull the country back from the brink, Taylor said. In the face of the military coup in neighboring Egypt in July 2013 that toppled an Islamist-led government there, the Tunisian Ennahda party decided to join a national dialogue process.

Sheikh Rached Ghannouchi, the leader of Ennahda, told a meeting of specialists at USIP in February that the party is intent on demonstrating “co-existence” between Islamists and secularists and “the compatibility of Islam” with democracy, human rights and consensus politics. The Institute last year began providing training to Tunisian community leaders in conflict management and facilitating dialogue. Future USIP work in Tunisia is expected to focus on supporting the development of the country’s civil society and government institutions involved in the democratic transition.

Agreement for pluralism

Tunisia’s national dialogue resulted in agreement in January on the text of a new constitution that won approval from parliament as well as on elections that are due to take place in December and the handover of power from the Ennahda-led coalition government to a non-political, interim government until the December election.

Political pluralism in the region “is at its broadest in Tunisia,” Taylor told the commission. “Islamist leaders soon learned that extremist violence, rather than reinforcing their position, undermined it,” he added in written testimony that elaborated on his oral remarks. While Tunisia’s constitution acknowledges the Muslim foundation of the society, it also guarantees civil and political rights.

“In Egypt, on the other hand, political pluralism is, at best, reminiscent of previous military dictatorships,” Taylor said.

The military government that toppled Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi last year soon began a brutal crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and other opposition leaders, under the guise of a fight against terrorism. More than 1,000 Egyptians have been killed and thousands more jailed and prosecuted, Taylor said. This year, Field Marshal and Defense Minister Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, who once professed no interest in the military taking over again, ran for president and won, though turnout in the election was low.

USIP has hosted an array of Egyptian political and civil society leaders. The Institute partners with Egyptian governmental and non-governmental organizations and individuals to lead and convene dialogues on issues ranging from reform to community-level mediation and to engage women and young people.

Taylor urged that the U.S. and international community continue to condemn repressive measures in Egypt publicly and privately. The U.S. also should focus its assistance on providing educational opportunities for Egyptians at home and abroad, especially for women and in underdeveloped parts of the country, he said.

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