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The paper outhnes the importance of historical identity in the Southern Mediterranean region through a case study of Tunisia. It explores Tunisia's political development up until the fall of the Ben Ali regime in January 2011, and its influence on the post-Arab spring period of constitutionalism of the new democratic government system. The theoretical framework of this paper involves a strategic approach to transition, emphasizing the influence of the historical relationship between religion (Islam) and politics on the role of the Islamic party in transition. The influence of the historical relationship between the military and politics on the role of the military in transition is also evaluated. These transition actors are chosen for a deeper investigation because of their historically negative image in Arab societies. In line with all available data, this article shows that the pre-independence 'twin tolerations' between the State and religious citizens as well as the civilian control over the military positively influenced Tunisia's contemporary democratic development. Post-independence Bourguiba's 'state-controlled Islam' and Ben Ali's 'zero tolerance' towards Islamists, somewhat paradoxically, contributed to the reaffirmation of Tunisian Islamic values and Ennahda's concept of Muslim democracy. The political and economically marginalized position of the military determined its promotional role in the democratic transition. Applying the single case study as comparison method developed by Landman and Linz-Stepan, we came to the conclusion that, due to the positive role of Ennahda and the military, Tunisia achieved a successful democratic transition even though its democracy is not yet fully consolidated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mediterranean is a complex area, i.e. the crossroad of different religions, cultures and civilizations. Political upheavals on the other side of the Mediterranean affect the stability of the Eastern Mediterranean region and the Balkan Peninsula. The most visible consequence is the migration flow that, inter alia, has made new problems and challenges to economic underdeveloped Western Balkan countries, notably to Serbia and Macedonia. In that context, the highest number of migrants coming from the war-affected Syria. Where are the roots of the problem, how and by whom is sown the seed of their development? In order to answer this question we tried to indicate the causes of the particular characteristics of the Arab systems, as well as the political upheavals in this region known as »Arab Spring«, especially the proxy wars in the five-years long Syrian conflict. The non-democratic characteristics of these regimes represent, inter alia, product of colonialisation, arbitrary delineation of boundaries by the colonial powers, Cold War confrontation, post - Cold War interventionism of great powers, particulary United States of America, as well as, their neoliberal projects supported by the domestic regimes. All these contributed to the development of corruption, high unemployment rate, non-existence or limited political competition, as well as limited civil rights and freedoms, i.e. the reasons for 2011 protests that resulted in regime collapse in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen and the Syrian five-years long war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]