The fear is that the growing climate of violence, intimidation and polarization could rip the fabric of Tunisian society apart, just as this new democratic space and culture of pluralism are forming. But I left the country feeling optimistic that, despite all its challenges, Tunisia will navigate these waters and find its way forward.
The rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt challenges the pillars of Saudi strategy in the Middle East while posing a dilemma for the United States. The two partners have devised a response whose centerpiece is an understanding with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood as to the terms of what amounts to "peaceful coexistence."