After the Arab Spring: Reassessing the Religious Landscape in Tunisia’s Democratic Journey and Societal Debates

Dear Colleagues,

Tunisia, the birthplace of what became known as the ‘Arab Spring,’ has remained a focus of scholarly interest due to its unique path towards democracy since the revolution started in December 2010. Far from marking an end, these transformative events in Tunisia have initiated a long and complex phase of social, political, and religious renegotiations. In the years after 2011, urgent debates about identity, diversity, and governance have highlighted the complex and sometimes contentious question of religion’s influence in shaping Tunisia’s public life. The ongoing tension between secular constitutional principles and everyday religious practices continues to attract scholarly attention and public discussion, emphasising the crucial need to understand the changing relationship between religion and democracy in post-Arab Spring Tunisia.

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to a Special Issue that examines the complex role of religion in Tunisia’s ongoing democratic transformation. This Special Issue aims to explore how religious actors, institutions, and discourses have both shaped and been shaped by the evolving landscape of Tunisian politics and society. We are particularly interested in how these dynamics intersect with broader themes covered by this journal, such as political governance, law, identity, and social change. By bringing together diverse perspectives, this Special Issue seeks to generate interdisciplinary insights that reflect both the Tunisian context and comparative studies on religion and democracy.

In this Special Issue, we welcome original research articles and review essays that address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• The evolving relationship between state and religion in Tunisia since the 2011 revolution;
• The influence of religious parties, such as Ennahdha, on constitutional and legal reforms;
• Religion’s impact on debates about gender, personal status laws, and civil liberties;
• Societal responses to secularism, pluralism, and religious freedom;
• Religious education and youth engagement in post-revolution Tunisia;
• The role of religion in decolonising educational curricula in Tunisia;
• Effects of global and regional religious movements on Tunisian religiosity;
• Interactions between religion, security, and counter-terrorism policies during the democratic transition;
• Interactions among religion, security, and counter-terrorism policies during democratic transition.

We hope that this Special Issue will stimulate new research and critical dialogue on the relationship between religion and revolution in Tunisia, and more broadly, the MENA region. By bringing together scholarship from diverse fields, including political science, religious studies, law, anthropology, sociology, and history, we aim to foster a deeper understanding of Tunisia’s experience and its broader implications for the study of democracy and religion in the Arab world.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–300 words, summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editor, Dr. Zouhir Gabsi (zouhir.gabsi@deakin.edu.au), and cc the Assistant Editor of Religions, Clare Chai (clare.chai@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions,

Dr. Zouhir Gabsi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Tunisia
• Arab Spring
• Ennahda
• Islam
• democracy
• cultural hybridity
• Tunisian youth
• globalization
• glocality
• cultural hybridity
• religiosity