Here, Daniel Zisenwine looks at Tunisia under the rule of Ben Ali, from 1987 when he rose to power until the 2011 protests that led to his downfall. Sparked by the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in Sidi Bouzid in Tunisia, a wave of protests and uprisings spread across North Africa and the Middle East in late 2010 and 2011. The case of Tunisia has since been held up as an example of a ''successful'' revolution, ousting its erstwhile ruler Zayn al-''Abidin Ben Ali, leading to relatively free elections in October 2011. Zisenwine offers an analysis of this authoritarian regime from its early days, to the attempts in the 2000s to reform economically (but not, crucially, politically) and the societal discontent that eventually led to the 2011 protests. This book is vital for those researching the Middle East and North Africa, as well as for those interested in the anatomy of authoritarian regimes and their downfall.

Autorentext

Daniel Zisenwine is a Research Fellow at the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.

Inhalt

Acknowledgements
Introduction: The Ben ?Ali Regime and Tunisian History
Prologue: Tunisia's Colonial Era and the Post-Independence Years
Chapter 1: Ben ?Ali's Rise to Power: The "Change" of 7 November 1988
Chapter 2: The Early Years: Reconciliation and Consensus Building Efforts
Chapter 3: The Shift to Repression
Chapter 4: The Abyss of Repression, Corruption, and Cronyism
Chapter 5: Foreign Relations in the Ben 'Ali Era
Chapter 6: Dégage !
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography