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

equesting that other institutions such as the EU that also support democratic
transitions provide comparable increases in their assistance.
• The U.S. State Department should adjust its travel advisory for Tunisia along
the lines of the British Foreign and Common Wealth Office Travel Advice,
updated 16 February 2012, to highlight the fact that most visits to Tunisia are
trouble free and the widespread unrest of 2011 is no longer occurring. The
current U.S. State Department Travel Alert for Tunisia dated 13 January 2012
expresses concern that Americans in Tunisia should take caution, but overemphasizes
the volatility of the current social and economic environment. The U.S. State
Department’s Travel Alert for Egypt of 7 November 2011 uses similar language, and
that the situation has continuing possibility of sporadic unrest. The lack of violent
crime directed against American tourists in Tunisia justifies an easing of the State
Department’s warning advisory for tourism in the country. This permissible
adjustment should help to turn around Tunisia’s declining tourism that, according to
the head of the National Office of Tunisian Tourism, in March of 2012 has declined
by 34% since the revolution.
• The official U.S. foreign policy position should refocus on Tunisia because of the
relatively high level of return each dollar of invested assistance achieves in
supporting a transitional democracy. The U.S. is now shifting its assistance
towards higher profile in more volatile regions in the Middle East. Ambassador Gray
justified shifting assistance to more volatile regions on the grounds that the situation
in Tunisia is stabilizing (SAIS Group Meeting, 27 January 2012). Consequently, the
State Department’s Travel Advisory at that time expressed concerns for potential
volatility. U.S. international commercial interests look to the State Department for
guidance on the potential for investment opportunities in countries like Tunisia. State
Department policies to refocus and furthermore encourage U.S. investment and
assistance in Tunisia will greatly contribute to the development of Tunisia. It will not
only help to ensure that the social and economic situation continues to stabilize, but
also becomes an enduring model with lessons for a successful transitioning
democracy for others undergoing similar transitions.
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