Tensions across the religious-secular fault lines in the country could not be reconciled, and freely elected leaders failed to deliver on the 2011 uprising’s cry for bread, freedom and dignity.
Tag: Ben Ali, Zine El-Abidine
As Tunisia’s Democratic Experiment Unravels, Economic Collapse Looms
The president is consolidating one-man rule while the economy, sapped by mismanagement, the pandemic and war in Ukraine, flails. Groups that helped avert a past crisis are largely silent.
Tunisians Recall Revolution Reluctantly, if at All: ‘It Just Faded Away’
When a monument to those killed in the 2011 uprising was recently damaged, few took notice or even cared in a town, and country, where there is now more regret than a wish to remember.
Why Tunisia’s Promise of Democracy Struggles to Bear Fruit
The revolution of 2011 ousted a dictator and set off the Arab Spring. But then the West overlooked the country’s economic problems, intent on creating a bulwark against Islamist extremism.
A Decade After the Arab Spring, Autocrats Still Rule the Mideast
The popular uprisings of 2011 mostly failed, but they gave the region a taste for democracy that continues to whet an appetite for change.
On Arab Spring Anniversary, Tunisia, Its Birthplace, Erupts
Tunisians are putting their hard-won right to criticize the government to good use. They just wish there were less to protest.
Lina Ben Mhenni, 36, ‘a Tunisian Girl’ Who Confronted Regime, Dies
Ms. Ben Mhenni used her blog to expose violence against protesters in the revolt that led to the government’s overthrow, and then to the Arab Spring.
Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, 83, Tunisia Autocrat Ousted in Arab Spring, Dies
His oppressive rule set off uprisings that spread throughout the Arab world. He died in exile in Saudi Arabia, which had refused to extradite him.
Béji Caïd Essebsi, President Who Guided Tunisia to Democracy, Dies at 92
In office at his death, he came out of retirement to lead his country after an Arab Spring uprising ousted a dictator, then won a free election.