Research Workshop: Perceptions of State-Society Relations: Historical Perspectives on Communication and Control in the Maghreb

This workshop tackles the question of state-society relations in the Maghreb from a historical perspective. By focusing on the late phase of the rule of Ben Ali, the contributes investigate the interrelationship of communication and control between societal and state actors. The workshop addresses innovative theories and methods for doing research on these issues under conditions of limited access to sources. In addition, the role of diverse actors on the national, international, and transnational levels and their impact on state-society relations are examined. Comparative analyses embed the historical findings from Tunisia into the bigger picture of developments in North Africa and the Middle East more broadly. Representatives from academia, media, and civil society will discuss the implications of this research, which are partly based on a project which was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and ran from 7/2019 until 10/2024. The workshop is organized by Dr. Maria Josua, Research Fellow at GIGA (Hamburg) and Publication Manager for MECAM. During her field research in Tunis in 2022, Dr. Josua was also an affiliate researcher with MECAM.