Beyond the Arab Sping
Tunisia and Libya both underwent a sea change in the wake of the Arab Spring. Almost a decade on, their trajectories couldn’t be more different
22 August 2019 - 05:00
They share an arid 491km border, but the fortunes of Tunisia and Libya diverged so dramatically in the wake of the Arab Spring that they seem to inhabit different worlds.
Tunisia was the epicentre of the pro-democracy earthquake that shook the foundations of the Arab world. When street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi immolated himself on December 27 2010, in protest at his public humiliation at the hands of a petty official who confiscated his wares, he sparked a movement that would force longtime president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali into exile, and a broader regional uprising...
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