Tunisia's dangerous drift

“For many years before the surprisingly swift collapse of the regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011, Tunisia was held up by the World Bank and senior European officials as the economic wonder of the Arab world. Here was proof, if that were needed, that Islam, equal rights for women and a model economy were compatible. No "Barcelona process" conference was complete without endless cheerleading of the Tunisian model”, Francis Ghilès, associate senior researcher at CIDOB.