Tunisia boasted strong organizations, led first and foremost by the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT), which helped facilitate both the revolution and political transition. Saied has imprisoned the leaders of all major political parties and sidelined parties more generally in his “bottom-up” political process. Revolution under new constraintsNone of this is to say that a revolution today would not succeed. Meanwhile, existing political parties and civil society organizations must reinvent themselves, offering new faces and new ideas, to win back their public support. While licensing new political parties is unlikely in today’s repressive environment, organizing into more informal, social movements—such as the anti-pollution protest movement that rocked Gabes last fall—can offer similar organizational advantages.

Source: The North Africa Journal January 14, 2026 15:08 UTC