Carnegie’s Tunisia Monitor project tracks the status of the country’s transition in the economic, political, and security spheres. This project provides original analysis and policy recommendations from a network of Tunisian contributors and Carnegie experts to inform decisionmakers in Tunisia, Europe, and the United States. This endeavor is supported by a grant from the Open Society Foundations.
President Kais Saied needs more carrots than sticks.
A decade after their successful uprising, Tunisians are still waiting for the realization of their political, economic, and social demands, despite frightful signs of a lagging economy and stunted politics.
Five months after he seized power, Kais Saied has given no signs he plans to return the country to its democratic path.
The worsening of disparities proves that reforms initiated by governments since 2011 and the strategies implemented by the development plan have failed to ensure social justice and create regional cohesion.
The region might be better served from a recommitment by the US and Europe, which might offer palpable inducements of development aid linked to reforms. But with Western governments focused on their own domestic spending plans and Covid-19 recovery, it is more likely that continuing Chinese funds and outreach will further entrench Beijing’s influence in the region for the foreseeable future.
Over the past few years, Ragaa and her husband were hardly able to provide for their four children on their meagre income, but when COVID-19 struck, it deprived them of their barely tolerable existence and pushed them over the edge.
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