Thread by @shadihamid

The U.S. can stop Tunisia's descent into full-blown dictatorship. Here's how. The practical steps I lay out in this @ForeignAffairs article are actually things the Biden administration can do. But it has to do them now.

foreignaffairs.com/tunisia/dont-b…

Often people mention Tunisia's still-pending IMF bailout in passing, but no one has really laid out in detail how using the loan as leverage might actually work. There are risks, which I acknowledge in the piece. But on balance this is the best (and likely last) option available.

Yes it's unlikely. But institutions are made up of individuals who have agency. And it's possible that enough people in the State Department and the White House might wake up and at least consider putting brakes on the IMF deal. It's doable.

https://twitter.com/MonicaLMarks/status/1640683844964687872?s=20

There are two modes of think tank research. One is to accept the constraints of U.S. policy and work within them. The other mode is to push hard against the status quo and try to change the terms of debate. Why should we settle for tinkering around the margins of a failed policy?

We have a brief window to change the policy conversation on Tunisia. The window will likely close in the matter of weeks. So please share this piece far and wide with anyone who works on the Middle East, particularly in government.

foreignaffairs.com/tunisia/dont-b…

When I say there's only a brief window to avert disaster in #Tunisia, that's not hyperbole.

foreignaffairs.com/tunisia/dont-b…