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Fifteen years ago, a Tunisian fruit seller, Mohamed Bouazizi, despairing at official corruption and police violence, walked to the centre of his hometown of Sidi Bouzid, set himself on fire, and changed the region forever.

Much of the hope triggered by that act lies in ruins. The revolutions that followed in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Syria have cost the lives of tens and thousands before, in some cases, giving way to chaos or the return of authoritarianism.

Only Tunisia appeared to fulfil the promise of the “Arab Spring”, with voices from around the world championing its democratic success, ignoring economic and political failings through much of its post-revolutionary history that stirred discontent.

Today, many of Tunisia’s post-revolutionary gains have been cast aside in the wake of President Kais Saied’s dramatic power grab in July 2021. Labelled a coup by his opponents, it ushered in a new hardline rule in Tunisia.

Burying the hopes of the revolution

Over the following years, as well as temporarily shuttering parliament – only reopening it in March 2023 – Saied has rewritten the constitution and overseen a relentless crackdown on critics and opponents.

“They essentially came for everyone; judges, civil society members, people from all political backgrounds, especially the ones that were talking about unifying an opposition against the coup regime,” Kaouther Ferjani, whose father, 71-year-old Ennahdha leader Said Ferjani, was arrested in February 2023.

In September, Saied said his measures were a continuation of the revolution triggered by Bouzazzi’s self-immolation. Painting himself a man of the people, he railed against nameless “lobbyists and their supporters” who thwart the people’s ambitions.

However, while many Tunisians have been cowed into silence by Saied’s crackdown, they have also refused to take part in elections, now little more than a procession for the president.

In 2014, during the country’s first post-revolution presidential election, about 61 percent of the country’s voters turned out to vote.

By last year’s election, turnout had halved.

“Kais Saied’s authoritarian rule has definitively buried the hopes and aspirations of the 2011 revolution by systematically crushing fundamental rights and freedoms and putting democratic institutions under his thumb,” Bassam Khawaja, deputy director at Human Rights Watch, told Al Jazeera English.

In the wake of the revolution, many across Tunisia became activists, seeking to involve themselves in forging what felt like a new national identity.

The number of civil society organisations exploded, with thousands forming to lobby against corruption or promote human rights, transitional justice, press freedom and women’s rights.

At the same time, political shows competed for space, debating the direction the country’s new identity would take.

“It was an amazing time,” a political analyst who witnessed the revolution and remains in Tunisia said, asking to remain anonymous. “Anybody with anything to say was saying it.

“Almost overnight, we had hundreds of political parties and thousands of civil society organisations. Many of the political parties shifted or merged… but Tunisia retained an active civil society, as well as retaining freedom of speech all the way up to 2022.”

Threatened by Saied’s Decree 54 of 2022, which criminalised any electronic communication deemed by the government as false, criticism of the ruling elite within the media and even on social networks has largely been muzzled.

“Freedom of speech was one of the few lasting benefits of the revolution,” the analyst continued.

“The economy failed to pick up, services didn’t really improve, but we had debate and freedom of speech. Now, with Decree 54, as well as commentators just being arrested for whatever reason, it’s gone.”

In 2025, both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch slammed Tunisia’s crackdown on activists and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs).

In a statement before the prosecution of six NGO workers and human rights defenders working for the Tunisian Council for Refugees in late November, Amnesty pointed to the 14 Tunisian and international NGOs that had their activities suspended by court order over the previous four months.

Included were the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, the Tunisian Forum for Social and Economic Rights, the media platform Nawaat and the Tunis branch of the World Organisation against Torture.

‘Plotting against state security’

Dozens of political figures from post-revolution governments have also been arrested, with little concern for party affiliation or ideology.

In April 2023, 84-year-old Rached Ghannouchi, leader of what had been Tunisia’s main political bloc, the Ennahdha Party, was arrested on charges of “plotting against state security”.

According to his daughter, Yusra, after a series of subsequent convictions, Ghannouchi currently faces a further 42 years in jail.

Later the same year, Ghannouchi’s principal critic, Abir Moussi, the leader of the Free Destourian Party, was jailed on a variety of charges.

Critics dismiss the charges, saying the criteria for arrest have been the person’s potential to rally opinion against Saied.

“This is not just the case for my father,” Yusra continued, referring to others, such as the leading post-coup opposition figure Jawhar Ben Mubarak.

“Other politicians, judges, journalists, and ordinary citizens … have been sentenced to very heavy sentences, without any evidence, without any respect for legal procedures, simply because Tunisia has now sadly been taken back to the very same dictatorship against which Tunisians had risen in 2010.”

Ghannouchi and Moussi, along with dozens of former elected lawmakers, remain in jail. The political parties that once vied for power in the country’s parliament are largely absent.

In their place, since Saied’s revised 2022 constitution weakened parliament, is a body that is no longer a threat to the president.

“The old parliament was incredibly fractious, and did itself few favours,” said Hatem Nafti, essayist and author of Our Friend Kais Saied, a book criticising Tunisia’s new regime. He was referring to the ammunition provided to its detractors by a chaotic and occasionally violent parliament.

“However, it was democratically elected and blocked legislation that its members felt would harm Tunisia.

“In the new parliament, members feel the need to talk tough and even be rude to ministers,” Nafti continued. “But it’s really just a performance… Nearly all the members are there because they agree with Kais Saied.”

Hopes that the justice system might act as a check on Saied have faltered. The president has continued to remodel the judiciary to a design of his own making, including by sacking 57 judges for not delivering verdicts he wanted in 2022.

By the 2024 elections, that effort appeared complete, with the judicial opposition to his rule that remained, in the shape of the administrative court, rendered subservient to his personally appointed electoral authority, and the most serious rivals for the presidency jailed.

“The judiciary is now almost entirely under the government’s control,“ Nafti continued. “Even under [deposed President Zine El Abidine] Ben Ali you had the CSM [Supreme Judicial Council], which oversaw judges’ appointments, promotions, and disciplinary matters.

“Now that only exists on paper, with the minister of justice able to determine precisely what judges go where and what judgements they’ll deliver.”

Citing what he said is the “shameful silence of the international community that once supported the country’s democratic transition”, Khawaja said: ”Saied has returned Tunisia to authoritarian rule.”

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India’s exports increased by nearly 20 percent in November year-on-year, the country’s fastest growth in three years, driven primarily by exports to the United States and China.

The rise comes at a time when many countries are struggling to protect exports from the impact of steep US tariffs introduced by US President Donald Trump. Earlier this year, the US slapped an additional 25 percent tariff on India in retaliation for its continued purchases of Russian oil, Trump said, bringing total tariffs to 50 percent.

The November rise in Indian exports also comes as China recorded a trade surplus of more than $1 trillion, in part reflecting how global trade flows are being reshaped as a result of the Trump trade wars.

The export figures, reported this week by India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, reflected resilient demand for Indian goods and a strategy of diversifying to new export markets, the ministry said, an approach other countries are also adopting as they look to reduce reliance on the US.

What were India’s exports in November?

India’s goods exports were valued at $38.13bn in November 2025, up about 19.4 percent year-on-year. This was a reversal of the 11.8 percent year-on-year decline in exports to $34.38bn that India recorded in October.

Imports, especially of gold, oil, and coal, also decreased by 1.88 percent, helping to shrink India’s goods trade deficit to about $24.5bn, its lowest level since June. In October, the trade deficit had ballooned to $41.68bn.

According to the Commerce Ministry, key drivers for strong exports included engineering goods, electronics and pharmaceuticals.

Where is India sending most of its exports now?

Despite the new tariffs, India’s exports to the US – its largest single destination – grew by 22 percent in November, reaching approximately $7bn.

The healthiest export sectors were engineering, electronics, jewellery and gems, and pharmaceuticals.

“India has held fort on the US exports despite tariffs,” Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said at a press briefing.

Meanwhile, shipments to China surged by 90 percent year-on-year to $2.2bn. China recorded notably higher Indian imports, with electronics and engineering goods seeing sizeable increases.

The Commerce Ministry added that exports to Spain, the United Arab Emirates and Tanzania were also driving growth.

Why are exports to the US still booming?

In part, November’s figures include Indian sales of goods that are not subject to US trade tariffs, Sambit Bhattacharyya, professor of economics at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom, said.

“India’s exports of electronics and pharmaceuticals to the US increased, and these product categories are exempt from tariffs. Furthermore, tea, coffee, spices and other food items were also added to the exemption list, and all of them are experiencing steady growth.”

However, analysts also say continued healthy exports to the US signal that traders expect it to eventually relax tariffs on other goods, as the two countries are still working towards a trade deal.

In November, for example, New Delhi and Washington signed a long-term contract under which state-owned Indian companies IOC, BPCL and HPCL will buy 2.2 million metric tonnes of US liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) each year. That represents 10 percent of India’s total LPG imports.

Bhattacharyya said, “India is working with the US in securing a trade deal, and it is expected that average tariffs would come down and there will be more exemptions.

“Therefore, it is likely that there will be more concessions from the US side. It seems that US buyers remain optimistic about their Indian suppliers, and Indian exports remain competitive in the US market.”

Is India diversifying exports away from the US as well?

Yes. Despite some positive signs regarding exports, uncertainty over US-India relations lingers. While the Trump administration claimed earlier this year that India had agreed to stop buying discounted Russian oil, it has shown little sign of doing so.

India has also resisted US pressure to open up sensitive sectors such as agriculture and dairy to US imports, insisting it will protect farmers and not “bow down” to tariff demands, while Trump is demanding greater market access.

In July this year, India and the UK signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement under which tariffs have been reduced. Last year, India also signed the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Free Trade Association countries – Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein – under which they have linked markets in return for investment.

India is currently in talks with Mexico to counter tariff policies there and create new export corridors. Mexico’s Senate on Wednesday approved tariff hikes of up to 50 percent from January on imports from India and other countries, a move analysts say is aimed at appeasing Washington.

It is also holding trade talks with Oman.

“India would also be looking to diversify into Eurasian and Central Asian markets,” Sussex University’s Bhattacharyya said.

Why else are India’s exports high?

Bhattacharyya said exports were buoyed in November because the rupee was weaker.

“The rupee devalued against the dollar, which partially counterbalanced the negative effects of tariff on price competitiveness of Indian exports,” he said.

“What is reported is year-on-year growth, which is export figures for November 2025 compared to November 2024. November 2024 was the month of Red Sea crisis, which had a negative impact on exports to the US,” he added.

“Therefore, the November 2025 export growth figures may appear to be overly optimistic due to a low base.”

Which other countries are showing healthy exports despite US trade tariffs?

China’s exports maintained growth in 2025, enabling the country to record a trade surplus of more than $1 trillion.

Earlier in the year, the US imposed tariffs of 145 percent on Chinese goods before reducing them to facilitate trade negotiations. Beijing has weathered the standoff by increasing exports to non-US markets, however.

Strong demand from Europe, Southeast Asia and other Asian markets for electronics, electric cars and rare-earth metals, among others, have offset a decline in US-bound shipments caused by the tariffs war.

China’s exports to the European Union also saw strong growth, up an annual 14.8 percent in November year-on-year, and an 8.2 percent rise in exports to countries in Southeast Asia.

For the first 11 months of 2025, China’s goods surplus rose 21.7 percent year-on-year, with high-tech products driving much of the expansion. Shipments in this category grew 5.4 percent faster than overall exports.

Vietnam has also registered export increases in 2025, with its trade surplus with the US reaching $121.6bn over the same period, despite the 20 percent tariffs imposed on its goods by the Trump administration.

In November, Vietnamese exports to the US jumped 22.5 percent year-on-year, outpacing the 15.1 percent growth in shipments to other markets, according to official statistics.

Are other countries diversifying away from the US?

There has been increased momentum in multilateral and bilateral trade negotiations as countries seek alternatives to the US market.

Bhattacharyya said, “Countries are looking to diversify away from the US into Asian markets such as China, Japan and ASEAN. Trade deals is one way of ensuring trade and reducing trade uncertainty. Incentivising investments and opening up markets is also another way of securing trade.”

The EU has signed a trade deals with Latin American bloc Mercosur, Mexico and Indonesia. The deals include cutting or phasing out most tariffs on goods, widening access to markets for industrial and agricultural exports, as well as environmental and labour commitments.

The US’s northern neighbour, Canada, has also signalled its desire to strike new trade deals after coming under pressure from Trump’s tariff blitz.

In November, Canada and the UAE signed a Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, designed to promote and protect investments between the two countries, while also agreeing to begin talks to secure a trade deal between themselves.