May the (truly) best win

The past few days here in Beni Khedeche have been...difficult. Without going into too much detail - because I truly do respect the village and am honored to be here working - I would like to use my recent experiences to comment on the nature of anarchy and the inevitable (healthy yet complicated) power struggle that emerges from it.

Realist international relations theory holds that the international system is characterized by anarchy. That is, no (legitimate) governing power exists to organize or control states so states are left to act as they see fit for survival. Typically, this need to survive translates into a pursuit of power. As each sovereign state seeks to increase its own power in order to secure its existence, conflict becomes inevitable. Just as this power struggle occurs at the international level, so it occurs to some extent (as has become apparent to me) at even the smallest level of political interaction. Perhaps, it even occurs to a more intense degree.

Usually, political systems are organized in a way so that power struggles are executed in an electoral or orderly fashion in which the strongest, most capable candidate emerges victorious. When the political system is insufficient or tainted, however, IR anarchy becomes a palpable element of politics that drives an inevitable power struggle of behind-the-scene deals or even over-regulation. As a result of several factors - including the fact that Tunisia's own federal government is in a post-revolution, transitional phase and Beni Khedeche is not at the top of the federal government's list of things to do - Beni Khedeche's political power status is in a state of anarchy. Though this anarchy is not derailing the community, it is certainly not helping the community develop. For instance, there is no mayor, the municipality is run by a volunteer secretary general, and a number of associations exist for developmental purposes but lack the ability to actually achieve their mission statements. Within this state of anarchy, as in all states of anarchy, actors are struggling to define themselves, preserve themselves, and therefore gain power.

We have certainly experienced a little bit of this power struggle during our time here in Beni Khedeche but, in all honestly, this type of power struggle politics occurs everywhere. In fact, such power struggles through which the strongest most capable actors emerge on top is healthy! But, the problem is when the strongest most capable actors do not emerge on top because behind the scene, small-town deals ensure that those who are connected emerge victorious. This issue is not likely to disappear in the near future, but it is food for thought (even for my own country). The power struggle that results from anarchy is not the problem. It is when the pure play of this power struggle is impeded that the problem arises.