“Tunisianness” in contention: state power, religious identity, and cultural diversity in postcolonial Tunisia

This article explores Tunisia's state-led homogenization efforts to forge a unified national identity, termed 'Tunisianness', after gaining independence from French colonial rule in 1956. Beginning with the leadership of Habib Bourguiba, the government pursued policies like Arabization, secular modernism, and cultural centralization to unify Tunisia's diverse ethnic, linguistic, and religious communities. The study employs a historical analysis and draws on theoretical frameworks from nationalism and postcolonial studies—such as Benedict Anderson's 'imagined communities' and Homi Bhabha's notions of hybridity and mimicry—to examine these nation-building strategies. Key findings reveal that while policies promoting education, language standardization, and media successfully established a cohesive national narrative, they encountered significant obstacles. Resistance from marginalized groups, notably the Berbers, and the persistent influence of the Francophone elite highlighted the limitations of imposing a singular identity on a pluralistic society. The article argues that Tunisia's nation-building project, though impactful, exposed inherent tensions between state-driven unity and cultural diversity. These insights contribute to a broader understanding of identity politics and the challenges of homogenization in postcolonial states, emphasizing the complex interplay between power, culture, and resistance in shaping national identity.