Lorenzo Ghione

My research project analyses how the Tunisian regime has leveraged migration cooperation both in negotiations with Europe and vis-à-vis the domestic political environment in a context of increasing authoritarianism since the self-coup d'état of 2021. By reshaping EU securitised-humanitarian migration narratives, Tunisia has turned migration management into a tool for state-centric politics, accusing foreign actors of interfering and fostering distrust against the "democratic decade" post-2011 revolution. Previously handled by NGOs and IOs, the regime has re-centralised migration functions and the cooperation with the EU. This migration politics mirrors broader state-building and regime survival strategies, intertwining repressive practices with legitimising discourses. The city of Sfax exemplifies this shift, transitioning from a hub of humanitarian migration management to a site of coercion and repression of migration flows.