Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet Awarded Nobel Peace Prize

October 9, 2015 8:42 AM

The 2015 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet "for its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011."

The course that events have taken in Tunisia since the fall of the authoritarian Ben Ali regime in January 2011 is unique and remarkable for several reasons. Firstly, it shows that Islamist and secular political movements can work together to achieve significant results in the country's best interests. The example of Tunisia thus underscores the value of dialogue and a sense of national belonging in a region marked by conflict. Secondly, the transition in Tunisia shows that civil society institutions and organizations can play a crucial role in a country’s democratization, and that such a process, even under difficult circumstances, can lead to free elections and the peaceful transfer of power. The National Dialogue Quartet must be given much of the credit for this achievement and for ensuring that the benefits of the Jasmine Revolution have not been lost.

The Quartet is the first African organization to receive the award.

posted by Etrigan (5 comments total)

Great blow by blow of their work here.
posted by progosk at 8:56 AM on October 9, 2015 [5 favorites]

Glad there is finally some good news out of Tunisia! Lately the tourism industry has taken a real hit (Der Spiegel - The True Cost of Terrorism: Tunisia's Tourism Industry Struggles to Survive), but hopefully this will help reverse peoples' mindset somewhat.
posted by rosswald at 1:00 PM on October 9, 2015

They didn't go for one of the obvious ones like the Pope, good.
posted by scalefree at 4:37 PM on October 9, 2015

Pope Francis is probably a good candidate at some point in the future, but I'm guessing they want to avoid repeating the whole Obama thing.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 10:38 PM on October 9, 2015

I don't know... I think the Quartet might be more likely to order drone strikes than the Pope.
posted by Etrigan at 7:35 AM on October 10, 2015