By Hussein Aboubakr Mansour | August 6, 2021 

In December 2010, a Tunisian street vendor publicly setting himself on fire sparked a wave of protests that eventually led to then-President Ben Ali’s ousting on January 14th, 2011. Soon after, the revolutionary spirit swept over the Middle East and started East, knocking off one lifelong leader after the other. This wave of sudden hopes, fears, upheaval, and turmoil became known as the Arab Spring. Soon after, the Spring turned into intense summer scorch, leading to civil wars, terrorism, ISIS, Iranian hegemony and the rise of anti-democratic Islamist forces. With the recent events in Tunisia and the ousting of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Ennahda party from power, the Arab Spring has come a full circle. 

On Sunday, July 25th, Tunisian President Kais Saied ousted the government and froze parliamentary activities and those of the largest party, Ennahda. Saied, a professor of constitutional law, evoked a constitutional clause that allows him to practically freeze political life in “national danger” and consolidate constitutional powers in his presidential office. This comes after a year of serious mishandling of the COVID crisies, which resulted in economic despair and a breakdown in the Tunisian public health system.  

Read the full article here

About the speaker:

Dr. David Wurmser is a senior analyst and director of the Project on Global anti-Semitism and the US-Israel Relationship at the Center for Security Policy, as well as a senior fellow at the Kohelet Policy Forum. He also is the executive and founding member of the Delphi Global Analysis Group, LLC. From December 2018 until September 2019, Dr. Wurmser also served as senior advisor to the U.S. National Security Advisor, Ambassador John Bolton.

Dr. Wurmser was the senior advisor from 2003-2007 to the U.S. Vice President Cheney on Middle East, proliferation and strategic affairs and senior advisor to Under Secretary of State John Bolton at the State Department before that

Immediately following the 9/11 attacks, Dr. Wurmser consulted until January 2002 for the Office of the Secretary of Defense in the U.S. Department of Defense on a war‐related classified project on understanding the nature and strategic significance of terrorist groups and their interactions with states.

Dr. Wurmser’s military service includes 11 years of intelligence experience in the U.S. Navy Reserves, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Commander and is the recipient of the prestigious Defense Meritorious Service Medal. He holds a B.A. in political science, M.A. in international affairs and economics and a Ph.D. in U.S. foreign policy and Middle East affairs from Johns Hopkins University.