The Battle of Ben Guerdane: Between Savagery and Resilience

This policy brief presents the preliminary findings from field research conducted by the Jasmine Foundation for Research and Communication in Ben Guerden, Tunisia. The brief discusses how locals in a marginalised border area in Tunisia tackle issues like violent extremism, the state of human security programming, as well as their perceptions on state security policies in this regard. The policy brief exposes how perceptions of insecurity and marginalisation manifest themselves in Ben Guerden, and how, despite this, the area is not a radicalisation hub anymore.

This brief is part of the regional project “Towards More Effective Human Security Approaches in the Context of the Emerging Threat of Violent Extremism in Jordan, Lebanon, and Tunisia”. Findings from the four briefs previously published on Jordan, Lebanon, and Tunisia, as well as a forthcoming country report on Tunisia will feed into analytical research papers, which will be published later this year. Over the coming months, the WANA Institute will also publish a White Paper and a Theory of Change based on the project’s findings.