Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism in a Postcolonial Context: Security, Democracy, and Religion in Tunisia

This book examines how global policies designed to prevent extremism have shaped religious and security governance in Tunisia in recent years, focusing on local programmes for training imams.

By tracing the evolution of security measures in Tunisia from the colonial era to today, this book highlights how transnational security policies―particularly those promoted after 2011―have reinforced state control over religion. While many studies explore religion’s role in politics, this work shows how international security agendas influence religious institutions and discourse locally. Through interviews with religious leaders and civil society organizations, this book uncovers how Tunisian institutions have strategically used international counter-extremism frameworks to justify increased security measures. It also sheds light on the evolving role of imams as security actors. By linking past and present, this book challenges the idea that counter-extremism policies are “neutral”, showing instead how they often echo colonial-era policing.

This book will be of interest to students of countering violent extremism, securitization, African studies, and International Relations in general.

Fabrizio Leonardo Cuccu is Alumni Research Fellow at the Merian Centre for Advanced Studies in the Maghreb (MECAM), University of Tunis, Tunisia, and Research Assistant in the School of Law and Government, Dublin City University, Ireland. His research focuses on security, development, and migration policies in postcolonial settings. His work has been published in the Cambridge Review of International Affairs, L’Année du Maghreb and Surveillance & Society.