A Long Road Ahead

Posted: August 26th, 2016

By Stephen McInerney

Stephen McInerney is Executive Director of the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED). He previously served as POMED's Advocacy Director from 2007 to 2010. He has extensive experience in the Middle East and North Africa, including graduate studies of Middle Eastern politics, history, and the Arabic language at the American University of Beirut and the American University in Cairo. He has spoken on Middle East affairs with numerous media outlets including BBC, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, and CBS News. His writing on Middle East affairs and U.S. policy has been published by Foreign Affairs, the Daily Star, the New Republic, Foreign Policy, and theWashington Post. He received a Master's degree from Stanford University.

Five years after the Tunisian Revolution in January 2011, the country has become the only liberal democracy in the Arab World. This successful transition from autocratic rule is especially impressive when compared to the relapse into authoritarianism or descent into civil conflict experienced by other “Arab Spring” countries. However, many members of Tunisian society do not feel that their lives have significantly changed for the better, especially in economic terms. The Cipher Brief sat down with Executive Director of the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED), Stephen McInerney, to discuss the path forward for Tunisia.

The Cipher Brief: Can you just start off by talking a little bit about the progress Tunisia has made since the Revolution in 2011? Where are we now, almost six years out?

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