Tunisia has not been able to regain the growth it lost after the Covid-19 pandemic. Authoritarian capitalism being established under the auspices of a president who controls the majority of power has not made the country less dependent on the West.
The fight against corruption has led to arbitrary arrests in the business sector, where economic actors - forced to violate unenforceable laws and risk severe penalties - live in fear. The nationalist and populist rhetoric of Tunisian President Kais Saied further politicizes this dynamic.