How water sector reforms institutionalised domination and repression in Tunisia’s authoritarian regimes

This paper analyses how water reforms in Tunisia’s authoritarian regimes came to shape mechanisms of domination, repression, and co-optation anchored in the everyday politics of water allocation and use. The historical study of the water-agriculture nexus in Tunisia (1950–2011) argues that the sector served as a practical and symbolic vehicle to legitimise, produce, and reinforce authoritarian practices and regimes. Drawing on the dialectic of the state and society, this analysis showcases the links between agricultural water governance and practices of state-building. Water policy- and decision-making are put in the context of past political agendas and social unrest, explaining underlying societal perceptions and motivations. On the basis of this analysis, this paper hopes to inspire modest and realistic policy reforms that strategically address contemporary legacy barriers to good water governance.