Chapter 5 Prison Escape and Its Political Imaginary in Times of Political Crisis: Tunisia, 2011–2016

Abstract

In 2011, during and after the revolutionary events in Tunisia, over a third of the total prison population escaped. These widespread jailbreaks could have been a symbol of emancipation from an abusive state power; but in Tunisia they instead came to represent the threat of criminal destabilization, and rumors of conspiracies against the democratic movement. Beyond the anecdotal dimension of these unusual events, this chapter analyzes the changing meanings of mass prison escapes in times of political transition, as they can be interpreted as part of liberatory moves, or reframed in a security-oriented political imaginary fueling more punitive policies.