Inequality and Mobility

An investigation of the capabilities and aspirations in contemporary Tunisia to comprehend their histories of erosion, but also to reveal new perspectives towards alternative futures.

After the Arab Revolutions in 2011, Tunisia became a symbol of freedom and justice and thus the hope of an entire region. Now, the picture has been reversed: Political freedoms are being curtailed and the economy is in disarray, especially after the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. In the face of expanding inequality, resentment and attacks against Others fall on fertile ground. More than ever, mobility becomes contested shaping spatial movements, social positions and discourses of the self while young people, in particular, desire to leave the country. The contributors to this volume investigate the meaning of capabilities and aspirations to comprehend the histories of their erosion, but also to reveal alternative ways of imagining futures.