Italy: Tunisia Is not Like Albania in 1991

To describe the recent surge in the arrivals of migrants from Tunisia to Italy, some people in Italy draw a comparison with what happened in the early ‘90s, when hundreds of thousands of Albanians left their country to reach Italy. This comparison is misleading.

While it is true that Tunisia is facing a very complicated phase in its history—possibly the most challenging one following the revolution in 2011—at the same time the country has proved to be very resilient over the past few years. The reality of Tunisian migration is multifaceted, and understanding its different aspects can help Italy drafting a more appropriate response to this challenge, which cannot be addressed only by securitizing the issue and engaging Tunisia exclusively as a partner in controlling these fluxes but must be broader and politically more comprehensive.