Tunisia

The second edition of "Tunisia" updates and develops analysis of the political history, contemporary politics, economics and foreign policy of the region in light of the events of the Arab Spring.

The Arab Spring generated the most substantial period of political unrest in the Arab world in fifty years. The fact that it began in Tunisia confounded expectations about Tunisian politics, and about the likely sources of political unrest in the region. The second edition seeks to explain why a regime that was successful for so long became so weak that a loosely organized protest wave could topple it. "Tunisia "argues that several developments weakened Ben Ali s government from within during the first decade of the new century; regional economic conjuncture developed in ways that slowed growth and job creation, corruption developed in ways that undermined Ben Ali s own support base and the release of political prisoners jailed in the 1990s created new opportunities for opposition organization and activism.

Providing an up-to-date, concise and incisive analysis of Tunisia s transformation from an authoritarian to an incipient democratic state, this book is essential reading for students, journalists and policy-makers seeking to understand the background to contemporary events in MENA."