Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Abbreviations
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Labor Protest in North Africa: Expectations and Realities
- 3 Labor Control Regimes and Initial Conditions: Comparing Morocco and Tunisia
- 4 Workers in an Era of Change: Union Responses to Early Neoliberal Reforms
- 5 Workers in an Age of Adjustment: Union Reactions to Structural Adjustment Programs
- 6 Workers in the Shadow of Reform: Labor Protest in the Autumn of Autocracy
- 7 Workers after the “Spring”: Labor Mobilization in an Era of Uncertainty
- 8 Conclusion: Implications for North Africa and Beyond
- Appendices
- Appendix A Labor Conflict in the Middle East and North Africa Database
- Appendix B Interviews
- Bibliography
- Index
6 - Workers in the Shadow of Reform: Labor Protest in the Autumn of Autocracy
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2025
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Abbreviations
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Labor Protest in North Africa: Expectations and Realities
- 3 Labor Control Regimes and Initial Conditions: Comparing Morocco and Tunisia
- 4 Workers in an Era of Change: Union Responses to Early Neoliberal Reforms
- 5 Workers in an Age of Adjustment: Union Reactions to Structural Adjustment Programs
- 6 Workers in the Shadow of Reform: Labor Protest in the Autumn of Autocracy
- 7 Workers after the “Spring”: Labor Mobilization in an Era of Uncertainty
- 8 Conclusion: Implications for North Africa and Beyond
- Appendices
- Appendix A Labor Conflict in the Middle East and North Africa Database
- Appendix B Interviews
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
This chapter examines how labor mobilization returned to its earlier patterns of political militancy in Tunisia and business unionism in Morocco by the late 2000s. It situates the post-reform period (2000–2011) as a phase of continued decline for labor unions in both countries. However, the chapter links unions’ divergent reactions to differences in their internal governance structures, a legacy from previous experiences of institutional incorporation and exclusion. It highlights how democratic internal organization fosters labor militancy, while hierarchical structures hinder opposition, even when clear incentives to protest exist. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how labor mobilization advanced democratic transition in Tunisia while reinforcing authoritarianism in Morocco.
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Labor Unions and Democratic Unrest in North AfricaProtest and Resistance in Tunisia and Morocco, pp. 190 - 240Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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