Human Rights and Reform: Changing the Face of North African Politics (review)

In an original and important work that will come as a revelation to those who imagine that human rights politics in Arab countries must entail an oxymoron, Susan Waltz demonstrates how significantly human rights advocacy by domestic groups and international organizations operating in conjunction with Western policies of promoting human rights have transformed the rules of the political game in North Africa. No claim is being made, however, that Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia have in the last decades become paragons in terms of their practical implementation of rights precepts, for one is dealing with clear-eyed, balanced assessments by a scholar who possesses extensive experience on the ground in North Africa and a firm grip on political realities. Without mistaking rhetoric for reality, Waltz presents a convincing case for the proposition that the terms of debates over the use and misuse of power have been dramatically altered in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. Thus, although ingrained patterns of rights violations persist, this political scientist believes that the changes at the rhetorical level are nonetheless such as to portend meaningful metapolitical change in the long term. As she points out, incorporation of human rights in official discourse “creates expectations and reinforces standards to which governments may be held.” ¹

Ironically, one consequence of the changed face of North African politics is that human rights are now more imbedded within normal political discourse in these non-Western countries than they are in a Western country like the United States. In contrast to the United States, where human rights concepts rarely figure in domestic political contests, in North African countries political battles are now routinely fought with reference to human rights. This book presents shrewd and well-documented analyses of how human rights have come to have such influence in North Africa, analyses that are relevant for evaluating the impact that human rights can have on politics in other countries moving toward democratization.

What accounts for the ability of human rights advocacy to have such impact on politics in these countries? Waltz seems to be on solid ground in attributing this in part to the fact that human rights activism burgeoned in a period when, due to a variety of factors, the old moral order was disrupted and former structures were in a shambles in North African countries. ² There was thus an ideological vacuum waiting to be filled. Moreover, North African human rights activists tend to be from the same classes as the ruling elites, which enables them to understand the workings of power, and they possess the resources to mount campaigns on behalf of human rights. In addition, they have the sophistication to use modern means of communication and have had the benefit of supportive initiatives by outside human rights organizations.

The crises of legitimacy afflicting North African governments has made their citizens susceptible to the appeals of both Islamic fundamentalism and human rights, which, as Waltz perceptively notes, offer different responses to the same set of concerns. ³ In refreshing contrast to contemporary authors obsessed with political Islam, who may conceive of Islam as the dynamic force in contemporary North African and Middle Eastern societies, Waltz shows that coherent secular programs like the human rights agenda can be both intelligible to and popular among contemporary Muslims. For a variety of reasons, the three North African regimes have chosen to resist Islamic fundamentalism and to make concessions to the mounting pressures being exerted both internally and externally for greater respect for human rights. Relevant in this connection is Waltz’ assessment that the human rights activism of many academics and professionals may be explained by their desire to be politically engaged while avoiding involvement in the distasteful squabbling of partisan politics. ⁴ Because human rights activists typically have no political ambitions other than seeing human rights principles written into the rules of the political game, and since they tend to be reformers rather than revolutionaries, members of human...