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  "authors": [
    "Sarah Chayes"
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    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
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Source: Getty

In The Media

National Dialogue Quartet in Tunisia Wins Nobel Peace Prize

The selection of a coalition of labor union leaders, businesspeople, lawyers, and human rights activists for the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize raised attention and hopes for Tunisia’s transition process.

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By Sarah Chayes
Published on Oct 9, 2015
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Democracy, Conflict, and Governance

The Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program is a leading source of independent policy research, writing, and outreach on global democracy, conflict, and governance. It analyzes and seeks to improve international efforts to reduce democratic backsliding, mitigate conflict and violence, overcome political polarization, promote gender equality, and advance pro-democratic uses of new technologies.

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Source: WNYC Takeaway

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize to a coalition of labor union leaders, businesspeople, lawyers, and human rights activists in recognition of their efforts to negotiate a peaceful end to the political crisis in Tunisia in 2013-14. Speaking on WNYC Takeaway with John Hockenberry, Carnegie’s Sarah Chayes explained who these groups were, how they achieved this breakthrough, and why the regional and local political context of the Arab Spring was key to the process. She pointed out that Tunisia’s political leaders after the Arab Spring had little experience in negotiation and revealed how the labor and business leaders taught the political leaders to resolve their differences peacefully. In addition, the government crackdown on Islamists in Egypt following the fall of President Morsi in Egypt as well as a number of assassinations of leftist political leaders in Tunisia spurred the resolution of the crisis, Chayes explained.

This interview was originally broadcast on WNYC Takeaway.

About the Author

Sarah Chayes

Former Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program

Sarah Chayes is internationally recognized for her innovative thinking on corruption and its implications. Her work explores how severe corruption can help prompt such crises as terrorism, revolutions and their violent aftermaths, and environmental degradation.

    Recent Work

  • Commentary
    China Financial Markets test

      Sarah Chayes

  • Paper
    Fighting the Hydra: Lessons From Worldwide Protests Against Corruption

      Sarah Chayes

Sarah Chayes
Former Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program
Sarah Chayes
Political ReformDemocracyCivil SocietyNorth AfricaTunisia

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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