Article
Alejandro Martin Rodriguez, Joy Arkeh, Sarah Yerkes
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Source: Getty
In The Media
The Tunisia Model
Tunisia an unprecedented opportunity for a democratic opening.
By Sarah Yerkes
Published on Oct 14, 2019
Source: Foreign Affairs
The story of how the Tunisian revolution began is well known. On December 17, 2010, a 26-year-old fruit vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi from the town of Sidi Bouzid set himself on fire outside a local government building. The man’s self-immolation—an act of protest against repeated mistreatment by police and local officials—sparked protests that quickly spread across the country. Within a few weeks, President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali had stepped down and fled the country after 23 years in power, offering Tunisia an unprecedented opportunity for a democratic opening. A massive wave of uprisings soon swept the country’s neighbors, reaching all the way to the Levant and the Persian Gulf.
About the Author
Sarah Yerkes
Acting Co-Director and Senior Fellow, Middle East Program
Sarah Yerkes is acting co-director and a senior fellow in Carnegie’s Middle East Program, where her research focuses on Tunisia’s political, economic, and security developments as well as state-society relations in the Middle East and North Africa.
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- The Migration Wave That Embarrassed Morocco and Rattled EuropeQ&A
Alejandro Martin Rodriguez, Sarah Yerkes
Recent Work
Political ReformDemocracyForeign PolicyGlobal GovernanceNorth AmericaUnited StatesNorth AfricaTunisiaMaghreb
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
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