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Tunisia’s latest defense agreement with Algeria, signed on October 7 in Algiers, has sparked renewed debate over whether the country is still a sovereign state, or simply a well-behaved vassal of the Algerian military regime.
The pact, signed by Algerian Army Chief of Staff General Saïd Chengriha and Tunisian Defense Minister Khaled Sehili, is said to include joint training, intelligence-sharing, and coordinated military exercises. But critics say the real story is not about defense cooperation. But rather, about quiet submission.
Political scientists define a vassal state as a nominally independent country that is economically, militarily, or politically subordinate to a more powerful neighbor. While the term evokes medieval feudalism, modern vassalization often occurs through economic dependency, and strategic coercion.
The defense deal follows Tunisia’s economic dependency. With its economy in freefall and its government unable to get loans from international financial institutions, including the IMF, Tunisia has little leverage. It continues to depend on Algerian charity, tourism, and gas.
In return for economic gains, Tunisian authorities have let Algerian security services operate freely on Tunisian soil, most notably in the 2021 arrest of Slimane Bouhafs, a UN-recognized refugee, who was arrested in Tunis. Bouhafs was abducted by Algerian agents and taken across the border, with Tunisian authorities complicit.
Tunisia has also backed Algerian diplomatic stands, putting itself inside Algeria’s sinking diplomatic ship.
Algerian officials have repeatedly referred to Tunisia as an extension of their own territory. In 2021, a senior Algerian parliamentarian called Tunisia “an Algerian wilaya,” a statement that now feels less rhetorical and more prophetic.
While Tunisian officials insist the new defense agreement is about “regional solidarity,” the language and logistics suggest otherwise. Intelligence fusion centers, joint command structures, and Algerian-led training programs all point to a deepening asymmetry.
The defense pact is just the latest chapter in Tunisia’s gradual loss of its sovereignty to its neighbor. With the deterioration of its economy, a return to autocracy and its security increasingly managed by Algeria, Tunisia appears to be subcontracting its statehood.
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