Tunisia: Capacity Substitution – How Tunisia’s Problems Became Someone Else’s Priorities

In the summer of 2023, a young man from Gafsa tried to cross the Mediterranean on a small boat. He did not make it. His story is one of thousands — and it is increasingly understood by Tunisian institutions through the language of border management. It is also a story about who defines what a problem is.

In June 2023, the European Commission announced a package for Tunisia: up to €900 million in proposed macro-financial assistance, €150 million in budget support, and €100 million for border…