Tunisia's National Intelligence: Why "Rogue Elephants" Fail to Reform

Drawing on extensive fieldwork and original data, this book examines the political and security evolution of Tunisia’s national intelligence in the post-independence era. It investigates the sophistication of the intelligence complex under Bin ʿAlī and its central role in entrenching his authoritarian rule. The increased politicization of intelligence services contributed to the consolidation of power and the abuse of Tunisian citizens through the pervasive securitization of the public and private spheres and the intrusive penetration of society. The wide-range of illegal activities by Tunisia’s intelligence services contributed to the establishment of a police security state. However, these services played a critical role in its weakening through their lack of professionalism, their opacity, and their systematic use of intelligence for repression and oppression purposes. The post-uprising era created a new dilemma for intelligence organs in terms of their adjustment to the new socio-political context. The absence of appropriate political vision for the role of intelligence within an emerging democracy, the rise of insecurity in the country and across the region, and the legacy of authoritarianism are hindering any effort to introduce an appropriate “reform.” The difficult transition of the intelligence apparatus’ habits of state-centric security, which has been associated with the regime’s security, to the human-citizen security approach, is likely a major impediment to such reform. Thus, rather than a reform that entails democratic control, accountability, and oversight of the intelligence sector, the country’s secret apparatus experienced a mending process seeking mainly to improve its operational capabilities driven by the discourse of technicalities.