Zack, Jenn, and Jen Kirby discuss the political crisis gripping Tunisia following the president’s decision to fire the prime minister and suspend parliament. Tunisia was the big “success story” of the Arab Spring: the one country whose revolution produced a real, albeit rocky, transition to democracy — a democracy that is now in crisis. The gang explains what’s going on, what it all means for Tunisia’s future, and how — or whether — the international community should respond.
References:
Tunisia’s president fired its prime minister and suspended parliament
Is what happened in Tunisia a coup?
A helpful timeline outlining Tunisia’s democratic transition
Tunisia’s imperfect democracy was still a model, wrote Sarah E. Yerkes in 2019
Foreign Policy on the problem with calling Tunisia the Arab Spring’s “lone success story”
Bloomberg’s Hussein Ibish on why this crisis is testing Tunisia’s political divisions
The US secretary of state’s Tunisia tweets
Hosts:
Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox
Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox
Jen Kirby (@j_kirby1), foreign and national security reporter, Vox
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