ABSTRACT
Tunisia is a small, yet relatively prosperous country, in spite of its limited resources. Pressed between two powerful regional states, Algeria to the west and Libya to the east, Tunisia is militarily vulnerable, a reality that has led Tunisians to pursue a cautious, moderate foreign policy. This condition of vulnerability compelled Tunisia, ever since its independence from France in 1956, under the leadership of the very charismatic Habib Bourguiba, to adopt a pro-Western stance without however showing any particular animosity toward the communist bloc throughout the cold war era. This explains why, despite its pro-Western stance, Tunisia joined the non-aligned movement (NAM) and played an active role of “positive neutrality” in it. Bourguiba was averse to communism, yet he believed that balanced relationships would allow his country to achieve a reputable status in the international system. 1 This pragmatic, non-confrontational foreign policy elicited respect from the two opposing blocs during the cold war but also from most third world countries. Thus, in spite of its small size and limited resources, and despite the rivalry with Nasserite Egypt in the 1960s, Tunisia succeeded in playing an active role in the Arab League, whose headquarters it hosted in Tunis from 1979 to 1990, and the Organization of African Unity (renamed the African Union in 1999). The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) had established its headquarters in Tunis from 1982 to 1993. This was done at the behest of the US and France following the PLO’s expulsion from Lebanon.
