Tunisia’s Authoritarian Spiral Tightens, Four Years After the Coup

Four years have passed since the coup in Tunisia, in which President Kais Saied concentrated power in his hands and entrenched authoritarian rule.

Four years after Tunisian President Kais Saied’s power grab – widely labeled a coup – the country finds itself in a deepening spiral of authoritarianism, economic turmoil, and social fragmentation.

On July 25, 2021, riding on a wave of public frustration over a decade of political deadlock and economic stagnation, President Saied suspended parliament,…