Tunisia: Understanding Conflict 2012 - Johns Hopkins School of ...

limited to Tunisia, these vivid depictions of the crackdown in Tunisia were available for
the world to see and for the world to take notice, and they did.
Another important factor in the flow of information surrounding the revolution
was the access to satellite television throughout Tunisia. The aforementioned flow of
information beyond the borders of Tunisia created a feed-back loop where information
from Facebook—pictures, video, and stories from bloggers, activists, and ordinary
citizens—was picked up by international news outlets, like Al Jazeera and TV24
broadcasting out of France. As these news outlets collected information from social
media and began to broadcast this content, not only did an increasing number of people
around the world take notice of what was happening but also did the people within
Tunisia, from Sidi Bouzid to Sidi Bou Said, who, with access to satellite television in
their homes or in cafes saw the crackdown in vivid detail. The uprising was now
garnering internal and external attention and the crumbling regime was powerless to
arrest the spread of this damning information. The powerful combination of Facebook
and satellite television broadcasts allowed a freer flow of information, both within
Tunisia and to the broader international public, and created the aforementioned feed-back
loop that allowed for the revolution to gain the critical mass necessary to overthrow the
Ben Ali regime.
Unemployment and Poverty
Unemployment and poverty are common issues in the developing world and Tunisia is no
different. However, the nature of unemployment within Tunisia grew into one of the
acute factors that led to the start of the revolution. Unanimously considered a revolution
finding its genesis in the youth of Tunisia, unemployment amongst the youth became a
major fuel for the fire of revolution. Hampered by the broader international financial
crisis as well as structural issues, the Tunisian economy was hurting. In 2010
unemployment continued to climb and one of the hardest hit portions of the work force
was the youth. Eight hundred thousand unemployed out of a population of 10 million,
with what is considered a highly educated workforce, simply became unacceptable.
Furthermore, approximately 200,000 of these unemployed were youth holding university
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