October 02, 2017
Tunisia Passes Controversial Law, Undermining Democratic Transition
Tunisia’s parliament recently passed a controversial law effectively granting amnesty to public officials involved in corruption under the Bourguiba and Ben Ali dictatorships from 1955 through 2010. The law thus ensures impunity for the very system of government corruption that the Tunisian people sought to upend in their revolution of 2010 to 2011.
As a relatively stable, democratic country in a tumultuous region, Tunisia is critical to the United States’ efforts in North Africa to counter ISIS, reduce drug smuggling and address migrant issues. A successful and peaceful democratic transition in Tunisia would serve as a model not just in the Arab world, but for any country emerging from dictatorship. Yet many ordinary Tunisians are losing faith that the revolution can deliver on its promises of economic justice. Some Tunisians voice a reluctant nostalgia for the Ben Ali regime–mainly in response to the ailing economy and a sense of greater insecurity due to the terrorist threat.
Read the full op-ed in Lawfare.
More from CNAS
-
Rational Security: The “All Takin’ and No Givin’” Edition
Podcast
Alex Zerden, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, joins the Rational Security podcast to discuss the week's biggest news in national security, incl...
By Alex Zerden
-
We Cannot Let the Lebanon-Israel Breakthrough Slip Away
Commentary
The US has helped to open a window. For the sake of Lebanon, Israel and the wider region, they must not allow it to close....
By Rachel Brandenburg
-
U.S. Treasury Secretary Has Outlined the Trump Administration's New Economic Measures Against Iran
Video
Alex Zerden, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, joins Al Jazeera to discuss the Trump Administration's announcement of Operation Economic Outc...
By Alex Zerden
-
To Understand the Middle East’s Future, Follow the Cranes
Commentary
The Middle East exemplifies the reality that control of infrastructure has always meant more than commerce. That competition is already underway. Follow the cranes....
By Eitan Danon & Josh Kram
