Kenneth Perkins is an Emeritus Professor of History at the University of South Carolina. A frequent traveler to the Middle East and North Africa, Dr Perkins has conducted scholarly research in Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, France, the United Kingdom and Sudan. He is the author of Qaids, Captains, and Colons: French Military Administration in the Colonial Maghrib, 1844-1934; Port Sudan: The Evolution of a Colonial City; Tunisia: Crossroads of the Islamic and European Worlds; A History of Modern Tunisia (2004); and two editions of the Historical Dictionary of Tunisia; as well as numerous articles, book chapters, book reviews and encyclopedia entries.
'This new edition of [Perkins'] history brings the story up to post-2011 revolution times and examines how Tunisia's intelligentsia and leaders have dealt with currents, frequently in the ascendant, drawing the country towards Europe and the opposing currents moving her towards the Arab world, the Middle East, and traditional (usually Islamic) values.' Kenneth W. Meyer, African Studies Quarterly