logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2022
24m 32s

Why did Tunisia turn its back on democra...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Tunisian President Kais Saied has drafted a new constitution for Tunisia that gives him new sweeping powers, including authority over the judiciary and immunity for life from prosecution.

Tunisia was a beacon of hope for democracy after the Arab Spring. The country rid itself of dictator Ben Ali after 24 years of rule and moved to a more democratic system.

Now the country seems to be sliding back towards the one man rule that it has known for generations.

This week on The Inquiry we are asking why Tunisia has turned its back on democracy.

Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Louise Clarke-Rowbotham Researchers: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty and Christopher Blake Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford Editor: Tara McDermott

(Tunisian presidential Kais Saied in Tunis. BBC Images)

Up next
Aug 19
Can Indonesia afford free lunches?
Children in Indonesia are now receiving free school meals — part of a bold new plan by President Prabowo Subianto to tackle malnutrition. Around one in five children in the country are stunted, meaning they are too short for their age. The lunch programme is central to Prabowo’s ... Show More
22m 59s
Aug 12
How are drones changing the landscape of modern warfare?
When the war in Ukraine began back in February 2022, the remote-controlled unmanned aerial vehicle or drone as its commonly known, was peripheral to the conflict. But three years on, the drone in all its shapes and sizes has taken on a central role in this battle, in the air, on ... Show More
22m 59s
Aug 5
What does Syria’s recent conflict tell us about al-Sharaa’s presidency?
In July, a brutal highway hijacking in southern Syria sparked tit-for-tat clashes between Druze and Bedouin fighters. During the week-long violence, over a thousand people were killed and more than 125,000 displaced. Syrian government forces and Israel also entered the conflict.T ... Show More
22m 58s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2021
Taking the pulse of Tunisia’s democracy
Tunisia has a new prime minister, the first woman in the Arab world to hold the job. She’s replacing the prime minister that President Kais Saied sacked in July, when he suspended parliament. Many Tunisians, fed up with political parties and an economic crisis, thought that was t ... Show More
17m 43s
Apr 2023
Tunisia’s democracy on the brink
Tunisia in North Africa was the birthplace of the Arab Spring, a wave of popular uprisings that shook or toppled authoritarian regimes in the region. But, after a decade of fragile democracy, in 2019 a new strongman, President Kais Saied, swept to power. He directed his campaign ... Show More
49m 5s
Aug 2021
Trouble in Tunisia
Tunisia was supposed to be the success story of the Arab Spring — the only democracy to last in the decade since revolutions swept the region.Recently, after mass protests, President Kais Saied appears to be taking the reins of power for himself.What happened? We hear from Mr. Sa ... Show More
26m 51s
Jul 2023
Tunisia’s democratic dream
Tunisia’s democracy is being dismantled by a president who claims he’s saving it from anarchy. Parliament has been dissolved, scores of judges sacked and opponents jailed. Once Tunisia - the north African country of just 12 million people squeezed between it’s much bigger neighbo ... Show More
27m 48s
Sep 2021
Tunisia's Popular Authoritarian
This week on Babel, Jon speaks with Dr. Monica Marks, a professor of Middle East politics at NYU Abu Dhabi who has been thinking about Tunisia for almost 15 years. They discuss Tunisian President Kais Saied's recent moves to consolidate power, why Tunisians seem to support him, w ... Show More
37m 2s
May 2023
Tunisie: une révolution confisquée?
La Tunisie a fait, pendant 10 ans, figure d’exception, seul pays à avoir mis sur pied une démocratie dans la foulée du Printemps arabe, après avoir chassé en janvier 2011 son président autocrate Ben Ali. Une démocratie fragile, perfectible mais une démocratie. Jusqu’au coup de to ... Show More
50 m
Jul 2021
Has there been a coup in Tunisia?
What now for Tunisia’s young democracy? Following a day of nationwide protests, Tunisia’s president sacked the PM and suspended parliament. As he put himself in charge, he said this was about getting the country back on track. Problem is: his critics accuse him of leading a coup. ... Show More
14m 47s
Feb 2024
Democracy on the brink in Tunisia?
In 2011, Tunisians took to the streets against the ruling authoritarian regime. Catalysed by social media, the protests would reverberate around the world, spark the Arab Spring and lead to significant democratic reforms in the country. More recently, Tunisia’s democracy has reac ... Show More
19m 36s
Jul 2021
Trouble in Tunisia
Zack, Jenn, and Jen Kirby discuss the political crisis gripping Tunisia following the president’s decision to fire the prime minister and suspend parliament. Tunisia was the big “success story” of the Arab Spring: the one country whose revolution produced a real, albeit rocky, tr ... Show More
41m 44s