Tunisia: towards a new confessional presidentialism?

Abstract

Since 2014, Tunisia’s legal regulation of religion has undergone a profound shift: the 2014 Constitution struck a precarious balance between Islam and a civil state grounded in citizenship and the rule of law, whereas the 2022 Constitution prioritises the ‘objectives of authentic Islam’ (maqāṣid) and removes the express reference to a ‘civil’ state. This article traces that constitutional turn and situates it within Tunisia’s political trajectory from the Essebsi presidency to Kaïs Saïed’s concentration of powers (2019-2025), including the 2021 resort to exceptional measures, the 2022 referendum, the restructuring of the legislature and the judiciary, and the tightening of restrictions on expression. It argues that the 2022 charter establishes a hyper‑presidential regime that weakens checks and balances, re‑centres religion in the state’s normative framework, and narrows the space for political pluralism and civil liberties. The analysis engages doctrinal, jurisprudential and policy sources and pays special attention to the constitutional design of emergency powers, the reconfiguration of electoral institutions, and the implications for freedom of conscience and gender equality. The article concludes that Tunisia’s new settlement points to a form of ‘confessional presidentialism’ that departs from the pluralist compromise of 2014 and risks entrenching an illiberal constitutional order.