Demonstrators hold flares during a demonstration against a bill that would protect those accused of corruption from prosecution, Tunis, Tunisia, May 13, 2017.
Zoubeir Souissi / Reuters
On May 23, as U.S. President Donald Trump began his first Middle East tour, a less sensational but potentially more consequential development was unfolding in Tunisia. Following months of increasing social unrest, political deadlock, and murmurings of a second uprising in the birthplace of the Arab Spring, the government of Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed announced a “total war against corruption.” Chahed’s statement, which followed the arrest of three prominent businessmen and one customs officer, signaled the start of a much broader campaign against cases of graft that had been increasingly viewed within Tunisia as the leading threat to
Source URL: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/tunisia/2017-07-06/tunisia-success-story