Can Tunisia Remain A Beacon Of Democracy For The Arab World?

IN TUNISIA, CHANGE CAME GRADUALLY AND THEN suddenly. When a police officer confiscated the goods of an unlicensed vegetable seller in December 2010, the merchant drenched himself in gasoline and set himself alight.

- Ian Bremmer

IN TUNISIA, CHANGE CAME GRADUALLY AND THEN suddenly. When a police officer confiscated the goods of an unlicensed vegetable seller in December 2010, the merchant drenched himself in gasoline and set himself alight. During the 18 days it took Mohammed Bouazizi to die, his story spread across the Arab world. Public anger grew, and protests swelled. On Jan. 4, 2011, Bouazizi died. Ten days later, the 23-year dictatorship of President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali was brought to its knees. The Arab Spring advanced to Egypt and Libya, toppling and threatening autocrats across the region.

The aftershocks continue six and a half years later. Libya remains divided, Syria is mired in civil war, and the Egyptian and Saudi governments have taken a hard line on political Islam. Tunisia, meanwhile, has become the Arab world’s one true free-market democracy. Crucially, its revolution didn’t end with a factional war. Many political movements were included in the country’s new national unity government. International donors stepped in to help. Tunisian democracy activists won a Nobel Peace Prize.