Following Sunday's controversial presidential election, Kais Saied has secured his second term in office. While this result was widely anticipated, it raises deeper questions about the trajectory of Tunisia's democracy. Tunisia was once seen as the shining success of the Arab Spring – a beacon of democratic hope. But now, like several of its neighbors, it finds itself grappling with rising authoritarianism, weakened institutions, and disillusioned voters.
Today, we’re not just looking at Tunisia’s election results, but also exploring what these trends tell us about the state of democracy in the wider region. How did Tunisia arrive at this point in its democratic trajectory? What does this mean for the future of political reform, governance, and stability in North Africa and beyond?
In this episode, Sophia Besch discusses these questions and more with Sarah Yerkes, a senior fellow in Carnegie’s Middle East Program and expert on Tunisia’s political and economic reforms.
Notes:
Sophia Besch sits down with Chris Chivvis and Stephen Wertheim to discuss why meaningful change in U.S. foreign policy is so difficult to achieve—and what it would take for the next American president to make such a change happen.
Sophia sits down with Cynthia Scharf, a senior fellow at the International Center for Future Generations, to discuss the geopolitics of solar geoengineering.
The Middle East and North Africa region is witnessing a fierce competition among the world’s current “great powers”—the U.S., Russia, and China. Director of the Carnegie Middle East Program Amr Hamzawy joins Sophia to discuss the current state and future of great power competition in the region.
Did Macron's political gamble pay off or backfire? Tara Varma from the Brookings Institution joins Sophia to discuss the outcome of France's recent snap elections and how they might shape the future of Europe.
Eric Ciaramella joins Sophia to discuss the upcoming 75th anniversary NATO summit—and what it might mean for Ukraine. They explore how NATO allies are thinking about their support to Ukraine, what Kiev hopes for from its partners, and what deliverables the summit can provide.