Current Issues in Comparative Education (CICE) - Volume 22 - Issue 1 - Special Issue 2020 - La Mission Civilisatrice, Le Bourguibism, and La Sécuritocratie

Oct 15, 2026

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Article examines how political and economic power is compressed into educational forms across Tunisia’s post-space transitions, from the French protectorate through the 2011 post-Jasmine revolution. Using Robert Cowen’s educational coding and transitologies, the study decrypts Tunisia’s educational trajectories via four educational codings linked to la Mission Civilisatrice, le Bourguibisme, la Sécuritocratie (national reconciliation), and the National Constituent Assembly period.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Educational coding and transitologies

Four educational codings in Tunisia

La Mission Civilisatrice, Le Bourguibism, and La Sécuritocratie

Current Issues in Comparative Education (CICE) Volume 22, Issue 1, Special Issue 2020 La Mission Civilisatrice, Le Bourguibism, and La Sécuritocratie: Deciphering Transitological Educational Codings in Post-spaces – the Case of Tunisia Tavis D. Jules Loyola University Chicago This article builds upon Robert Cowen’s (1996) work on educational coding in transitological settings and post-spaces by deciphering the efficacy of political and economic compressions in Tunisia from the French protectorate period to the 2011 post-Jasmine revolution. First, I diachronically decrypt and elucidate the specific experiences and trajectories of Tunisia’s transitologies, while paying attention to the emergence of specific synchronically educational moments. It is suggested that educational codes during transitory periods are framed by political compressions and preconceived philosophies of modernity. It is postulated that four educational codingscan be derived in Tunisia’s post-spaces: (a) the protectorate code defined by la Mission Civilisatrice (the civilizing mission); (b) the post-protectorate code defined by le Bourguibisme (Bourguibism); (c) the post-Bourguibisme code defined by la Sécuritocratie (securitocracy) in the form of the national reconciliation; and (d) the post-Sécuritocratie period defined by the National Constituent Assembly (NCA)–as economic and political power is compressed into educational forms. I situate educational patterns within the Tunisian context to illustrate how educational codings shape post-spaces across these four transitory periods. Keywords: Tunisia, la Mission Civilisatrice, la Bourguibisme, la Securitocracy, transitology and educational codings. Introduction This paper employs Robert Cowen’s (2000) concept of “educational coding, that is, the compression of political and economic power into educational forms”(p. 10) within the context of transitologies (the study of transition) to reading the motor nuclei (a sequence of signposts that transcend discourse)1 of educational development across post-spaces. This is done by explaining the efficacy of transitologies in pre-and postauthoritarian contexts, settings, and spaces by using Tunisia as a case study to chart the trajectory of a particular national context using pre-modern, modern, and late modern ideologies (Cowen, 1996) and transitologies. Cowen (2000) notes that transitologies refer to the “simultaneous collapse and reconstruction” of institutional systems such as “state apparatuses; social and economic stratification systems; and political visions of the future” during which “education is given a major symbolic and reconstructionist role in these social processes”(p. 338) . 1 Acosta and Perez Centeno (2011) use motor nuclei to explain “a series of milestones or episodes which have become transdiscursive as the discipline has evolved”(p. 1) as such, this article modifies their original idea of motor nuclei to focus on the transdiscursive evolutional dynamics of changes in educational ‘post-spaces’within the discipline of comparative and international education. © 2020, Current Issues in Comparative Education, Teachers College, Columbia University. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Current Issues in Comparative Education 22(1), 5-22. La Mission Civilisatrice, Le Bourguibism, and La Sécuritocratie For Cowen (2000), educational patterns or ideal-type modules become visible as ideological, social, political, economic, and cultural complexities of societies are exposed during the redefinition period in the aftermath of a transition (be it peaceful, dramatic, or turbulent) . As societies’ complexities are exposed during the transition, educational sites display an array of educational forms (political compressions) and educational patterns that reveal new educational codes “that captures the intersections of the forces of history, social structures and the pedagogic identities of individuals”(Cowen, 2000, p. 336) . Education is observed as habituall

FAQs

What framework does the article use to analyze Tunisia’s education during transitions?

It applies Robert Cowen’s concept of “educational coding,” compressing political and economic power into educational forms, together with transitologies (the study of transition).

Which four educational codings does the article derive for Tunisia’s post-spaces?

It identifies (a) protectorate code (la Mission Civilisatrice), (b) post-protectorate code (le Bourguibisme), (c) post-Bourguibisme code (la Sécuritocratie) expressed through national reconciliation, and (d) a post-Sécuritocratie period shaped by the National Constituent Assembly.

How does the article explain the role of education in transitory periods?

It argues that educational codes during transitory phases are framed by political compressions and preconceived philosophies of modernity, shaping post-spaces across these periods.

Oct 15, 2026

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