Governing uncertainty: challenges for the first Tunisian provisional administration of 2011 and its impacts in 2012-2014

ABSTRACT

The first Tunisian provisional administration (TPA) formed in an ad hoc manner in the wake of President Zayn al-?Abidin bin ?Ali’s departure on 14 January 2011. Due to its nature as a first provisional administration (or interim government) as well as the constraints and circumstances it faced, the TPA confronted many challenges. This article discusses four main types of challenges with which it struggled: representation and legitimacy, state building and national identity, media and electoral reform and transitional justice and judicial reform. The ways the TPA dealt with these challenges had an impact on later phases of post-authoritarian governance. The article demonstrates the importance of studying initial decisions taken (and the constraints shaping them) during attempted transition from authoritarian rule.