Tunisia

Europe

Economics

Military & Security

The European Union plans to give Tunisia up to 164.5 million euros ($178.17 million) over three years to curb the number of migrants arriving in Europe via the central Mediterranean route, the Financial Times reported on March 24.

Tunisia, Europe: EU Plans $178M Deal To Curb Central Mediterranean Migration

Libya

Armed clashes erupted in Libya between the Interior Ministry's Zuwara Military Chamber task force and armed militias near the Libya-Tunisia Ras Ajdir border crossing, The National reported on March 18.

Tunisia, Libya: Armed Clashes in Libya Result in Closure of Ras Ajdir Border Crossing

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Tunisia raised drinking water prices by up to 16% for consumers who use more than 150 cubic meters of drinking water per quarter and for tourist facilities, Reuters reported on March 1.

Tunisia: Tunis Raises Drinking Water Prices by Up to 16% Amid Ongoing Drought

Italy

Politics

EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said irregular migration from Tunisia to Italy since the beginning of October 2023 had decreased by 80%-90% compared with the same period the previous year, Il Sole 24 Ore reported on Jan. 26.

EU, Tunisia, Italy: Migration From Tunisia Falls Following MoU With EU

Tunisian security forces arrested and detained Abir Moussi, a prominent opposition figure and president of the Free Destourian Party, for 48 hours on charges of processing personal data, obstructing the right to work and assault intended to cause chaos, Al Jazeera reported on Oct. 4.

Tunisia: Security Forces Arrest, Detain Prominent Opponent Leader Ahead of 2024 Elections

Belgium

Spain

Tunisia launched a new crackdown on migrant workers over the weekend, pushing up to 500 migrants out of the city of Sfax just south of the capital of Tunis, France 24 reported on Sept. 17. 

Tunisia, EU: Tunisia Continues Crackdown as EU Skepticism of Migrant Deal Remains

Tunisian police arrested the two top leaders of the opposition Ennahda party on Sept. 5, Al Jazeera reported the next day.

Tunisia: Police Arrest Ennahda Leaders in Sign of Growing Authoritarianism

Tunisian President Kais Saied fired Prime Minister Najla Bouden and appointed former central bank executive Ahmed al Hachani in her place on Aug. 1, Al Jazeera reported the next day.

Tunisia: Prime Minister Replaced, Likely Due to Economic Strain

Assessments

Mexico

United States

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Russia

The U.S. and Mexican flags. On Dec. 27, a delegation of top U.S. officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas is expected to travel to Mexico to meet with President Lopez Obrador to discuss ways to address the recent surge of migrants on the southern U.S. border.

Social Issues

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: U.S. and Mexican Officials Talk Migration, Putin Meets With CIS Leaders

Snapshots

Tunisian dinar.

Tunisia will push European states for more aid as migrants use the country as a launching point to the Continent.

Tunisia Angles for More European Aid as Migrants Travel North

Bahrain

Egypt

Iraq

Israel

Jordan

Kuwait

Lebanon

Morocco

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Palestinian Territories

Qatar

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Syria

Turkey

United Arab Emirates

Yemen

Students from the American University of Beirut (AUB) rally in support of Palestinians outside the main gate of the university in the Lebanese capital on Oct. 9, 2023. 

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Israel's likely ground invasion in Gaza will alienate many Muslims in the Middle East, pressuring their governments to respond in support of Palestinians.

Gauging the Regional Response to the Gaza Conflict

People line up in front of a bakery selling subsidized bread in Tunis, Tunisia, on Aug. 19, 2023.

The ongoing shortages risk eroding President Saied's popularity, triggering unrest, and delaying the disbursement of needed IMF funds.

Tunisia's Response to Bread Shortages Bode Ill for Its Economic Stability

Algeria

Low water levels are seen at the Sidi Salem Dam, Tunisia's largest embankment dam, on April 6, 2023. 

Water and food shortages this summer will increase socioeconomic risks in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, along with the impetus for more sustainable agricultural practices. 

After a Dry Spring, Northwest Africa Braces for Disruptive Crop Failures

Angola

Mozambique

Republic of the Congo

Cyprus

Ukraine

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (2nd L) and Libya's Tripoli-based Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah (3rd L) attend an agreement-signing ceremony between Italian multinational oil and gas company Eni and the Libyan National Oil Corporation in Tripoli, Libya, on Jan. 28, 2023.

As Europe turns away from Russian energy, Italy positions itself as a natural gas conduit between the Continent and Africa.

With Energy Deals in Africa, Italy Positions Itself as Europe's Next Gas Hub

Western Sahara

Energy

After decades of isolation, Algiers plans to use its energy wealth to engage with the world, but its lack of economic diversification will hamper this process.

Algeria Emerges From Isolation, but Its Economy and Foreign Policy Will Limit Change

Peru

Belarus

Supporters of former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo clash with riot police in Lima on Dec. 11, 2022, during a demonstration demanding Castillo's release and early legislative elections. 

The Weekly Rundown: Putin Visits Belarus, Peru Sets an Election Date Amid Protests

Benin

Cameroon

Guinea Bissau

China

Indonesia

France

French President Emmanuel Macron on Feb. 17, 2022, in Brussels.

The Weekly Rundown: Jokowi Visits Beijing, Macron Visits Sub-Saharan Africa

Demonstrators in Tunis, Tunisia, lift national flags during a protest on June 19, 2022, against President Kais Saied and the country’s upcoming constitutional referendum. 

President Saied's vision of a more centralized system of power, while less democratic, could ease the economic instability that has plagued the country since the 2011 revolution.

A New Constitution Returns Tunisia to Its Pre-Arab Spring Era

Media

Podcasts

Amid political instability and social unrest in Tunisia, the president has called for a constitutional referendum in July.

Essential Geopolitics: What to Know About Tunisia's Constitutional Referendum

Tunisian protesters raise national flags during a demonstration against their president in the capital of Tunis on March 20, 2022. 

Security

The Difficulties of North African Reform

The backlash against President Saied's move to extend his power grab could spur violent protests and delay needed economic reforms.

In Tunisia, the President's Dissolution of Parliament Will Deepen His Country's Crises

Tunisia sits at the northwest corner of North Africa, and is divided geographically between its temperate, mountainous northern coastline, its warm, central plains, and its hot, dry Sahara Desert interior. To maintain its prosperity, Tunisia's primary geographic challenges are to manage the economic divide between its interior and coastline, while also defending the country's geographically open borders and trade routes with Europe. Though it lacks major natural resources, agriculture has flourished for centuries in Tunisia's mountainous north.    Tunisia's location on the Mediterranean is a double-edged sword. It provides it with access to trade routes while also opening it up to attacks from powerful states. Though the country's interior is much more defensible, the coastal region produces 85% of Tunisia's gross domestic product. Its capital and largest city, Tunis, sits on the Bay of Tunis where a natural harbor facilitates trade, but provides an easy landing point for invasion.     Beginning with the Roman conquest of Carthage in the second century B.C., Tunisia was under foreign occupation for much of its history. Its last occupation ended in 1956 when French colonization ceased, but trouble on Tunisia's southern border persists today.     To maintain prosperity, Tunisia needs access to European trade routes across the Mediterranean Sea. Doing so requires close relationships with powers strong enough to keep those routes open, and Tunisia has thus remained close with its powerful former colonizer, France. Because Tunisia is too weak to control or influence neighboring Algeria or Libya, it chooses to focus on maintaining its trade routes to Europe.

SITUATION REPORTS

Tunisia, Europe: EU Plans $178M Deal To Curb Central Mediterranean Migration

Tunisia, Libya: Armed Clashes in Libya Result in Closure of Ras Ajdir Border Crossing

Tunisia: Tunis Raises Drinking Water Prices by Up to 16% Amid Ongoing Drought

EU, Tunisia, Italy: Migration From Tunisia Falls Following MoU With EU

Tunisia: Security Forces Arrest, Detain Prominent Opponent Leader Ahead of 2024 Elections

Tunisia, EU: Tunisia Continues Crackdown as EU Skepticism of Migrant Deal Remains

Tunisia: Police Arrest Ennahda Leaders in Sign of Growing Authoritarianism

Tunisia: Prime Minister Replaced, Likely Due to Economic Strain

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