2024
Project: Crises and Transnational Migration in Tunisia (2011-2024) : Discourses and Practices of Hospitality/Rejection of Immigrants
Dr. Riadh Ben Khalifa
(University of Tunis/ Tunisia)
Riadh Ben Khalifa is an Associate Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Tunis and a member of the Research Laboratory of Economy and History of the Mediterranean (Faculty of Human and Social Sciences). He is editor-in-chief of the Tunisian Review of Social Sciences. His research interests focus on migration, asylum, and mobility in transitional contexts. Over the past decade, he published several books and articles in refereed journals as well as contributed to numerous chapters in collective works. He also made contributions to reports on migration and refugee issues for international organizations.
Riadh Ben Khalifa serves as a scientific member of the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES), the Arab Institute for Human Rights, and the National Migration Observatory (Minister of Social Affairs). Additionally, he is a member of several migration networks.
Project IRF II: Inequality & Mobility
The research project examines the issue of hospitality and inhospitality towards migrants in Tunisia. It addresses the political instrumentalization of the migration issue and citizen mobilization to defend human rights. The study reveals contradictions within Tunisian society. Despite an initial wave of solidarity towards Libyan immigrants in 2011, Tunisia’s tolerance towards sub-Saharan Africans later waned, with growing hostility, most notably in the city of Sfax.
The project aims to investigate whether there are elements that legitimize the hypothesis of Tunisia adopting state racism. It also seeks to explore the correlation between the violation of migrants’ rights and the retreat of democracy. Furthermore, it aims to propose a policy of cooperation with European partners to implement a migration policy that respects human rights.