[ Ambivalences des usages de symboles palestiniens en Tunisie: Entre solidarité sincère et altruisme ostentatoire ]
Sana Ben Ghali1
1 Department Design, Université de Tunis, Institut Supérieur des Beaux Arts de Tunis (ISBAT), Tunis, Tunisia
Original language: French
Copyright © 2026 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This article examines the circulation of Palestinian symbols between genuine political engagement and performative commodification, drawing on the theoretical frameworks of Veblen, Illouz, Debord, and Baudrillard. In Tunisia, these symbols function as markers of memory, solidarity, and resistance, yet they are also vulnerable to political neutralization when integrated into commercial logics or transformed into objects of conspicuous consumption. The study shows, however, that ethical practices — transparency, redistribution of profits, and respect for symbolic integrity — can reconfigure activist marketing as a tool of real support rather than a form of moral spectacle. It also highlights the central role of digital platforms in amplifying mobilization, provided that superficial performativity is contained. The article concludes by calling for a rethinking of activist consumption as a concrete lever for justice and collective action, rather than a display of virtue.
Author Keywords: Palestinian symbols, Activist consumption, Commodification, Performativity, Activist marketing, altruisme ostentatoire.
Sana Ben Ghali1
1 Department Design, Université de Tunis, Institut Supérieur des Beaux Arts de Tunis (ISBAT), Tunis, Tunisia
Original language: French
Copyright © 2026 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
This article examines the circulation of Palestinian symbols between genuine political engagement and performative commodification, drawing on the theoretical frameworks of Veblen, Illouz, Debord, and Baudrillard. In Tunisia, these symbols function as markers of memory, solidarity, and resistance, yet they are also vulnerable to political neutralization when integrated into commercial logics or transformed into objects of conspicuous consumption. The study shows, however, that ethical practices — transparency, redistribution of profits, and respect for symbolic integrity — can reconfigure activist marketing as a tool of real support rather than a form of moral spectacle. It also highlights the central role of digital platforms in amplifying mobilization, provided that superficial performativity is contained. The article concludes by calling for a rethinking of activist consumption as a concrete lever for justice and collective action, rather than a display of virtue.
Author Keywords: Palestinian symbols, Activist consumption, Commodification, Performativity, Activist marketing, altruisme ostentatoire.
Abstract: (french)
Cet article examine la circulation des symboles palestiniens entre engagement authentique et marchandisation performative, en mobilisant les cadres théoriques de Veblen, Illouz, Debord et Baudrillard. En Tunisie, ces symboles constituent des marqueurs de mémoire, de solidarité et de résistance, tout en étant exposés au risque de neutralisation politique lorsqu’ils sont intégrés aux logiques commerciales ou transformés en objets de consommation ostentatoire. L’étude montre toutefois que des pratiques éthiques — transparence, redistribution des bénéfices, respect des symboles — peuvent reconfigurer le marketing militant comme un outil de soutien réel plutôt qu’un simple spectacle moral. Elle souligne également le rôle central des plateformes numériques dans l’amplification de la mobilisation, à condition de limiter les dérives performatives. L’article conclut en appelant à repenser la consommation militante comme un levier concret de justice et d’action collective, et non comme une mise en scène de vertu.
Author Keywords: Symboles palestiniens, Consommation militante, Marchandisation, Performativité, Marketing militant, altruisme ostentatoire.
