Beyond the Arab Spring

Tunisia captured world attention three years ago when protests in the North African state ignited a political fuse that spread a political revolution across the Middle East, known as the Arab Spring. On December 18, 2010, 26-year-old fruit vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in the town of Sidi Bouzid, in protest over police corruption and ill treatment, triggering nationwide protests that led Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to flee the country. But unlike similar rebellions that followed in countries like Egypt, Lybia, Yemen and others, it is only Tunisia which has persevered and overcome the challenges of democratization.

Despite subsequent political hiccups, Tunisians voted in a National Constituent Assembly to draft a Constitution that was approved in January this year. Tunisians will go to the polls next month to vote directly for candidates to their first bi-cameral parliament. In November, they will choose a new president. This is a remarkable achievement, given the continuing tension around the region, both in the neighboring Maghreb states of Algeria, Libya, Mauritania and Morocco, but also in Egypt, following the violent political turmoil that led to the return of a military-led government and in war-torn Syria.