Digital Vigilantism and the Demobilization of Political Participation in Post-2021 Tunisia

In the wake of President Kais Saied’s "exceptional measures" on July 25, 2021, Tunisia has witnessed a process of democratic backsliding. This process has witnessed the use of several institutional mechanisms of repression specifically targeted at the digital sphere, such as the adoption of Decree-Law No. 2022-54. While the use of Decree 54 to restrict and punish digital dissent has been well-documented, another mechanism has remained under-studied - digital vigilantism. While Decree-Law 54 represents vertical repression (state vs. citizen), pro-Saied Coordination Committees (or Tansiqiyat) perform horizontal repression. This involves targeted persecution of online users through harassment, doxing, or threats of physical assault to raise the social and psychological cost of participation such that individuals withdraw from the public sphere. This paper analyzes the rise of digital vigilantism in Tunisia post-July 2021 and its effects on political participation. Drawing on content analysis of Facebook posts, social network analysis, and interviews with bloggers, activists and members of digital vigilante groups, we analyze the motivations and trajectories of their members, the mechanisms they use to target individuals, and their relationship with the state and tensions between deputization and autonomization. Based on case studies and interviews with activists, we map the effects of horizontal repression on the political participation of opposition activists, and their strategies in response to digital mobilization, ranging from resistance to withdrawal from the public sphere—a process we define as “populist demobilization.”