{"id":812,"date":"2026-08-10T05:36:50","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T05:36:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=812"},"modified":"2026-08-10T05:36:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T05:36:50","slug":"january-14-2011-president-zine-el-abidine-ben-ali-flees-tunisia-marking-the-first-victory-of-the-arab-spring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=812","title":{"rendered":"January 14, 2011: President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali Flees Tunisia, Marking the First Victory of the Arab Spring"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<div>\n<article>\n<header>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>January 14, 2015<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1>January 14, 2011: President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali Flees Tunisia, Marking the First Victory of the Arab Spring<\/h1>\n<h1>January 14, 2011: President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali Flees Tunisia, Marking the First Victory of the Arab Spring<\/h1>\n<h2>\n<p>In the winter of 2011, a revolution begins across the Arab world when Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali resigns following protests against government abuse and corruption.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=810\">No, the Demolition of the Berlin Wall Was Not the End of Socialism<\/a><\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<section>\n<time>January 14, 2015<\/time><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>What would later become known as the Arab Spring began deep in winter, on December 17, 2010, when Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire to protest official harassment and corruption. Less than a month later, the longtime president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali resigned. In the February 7, 2011, issue of <em>The Nation<\/em>\u2014which, as always, was actually in readers\u2019 hands a week or two before that date\u2014Laila Lalami wrote a brief \u201cComment\u201d piece titled \u201cTunisia Rising.\u201d Lalami is a Moroccan-American novelist\u2014her most recent book, <em>The Moor\u2019s Account<\/em>, was published last year\u2014who first wrote for <em>The Nation<\/em> in 2005, on the Tanzanian novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The reverberations of the Tunisian revolution were felt almost immediately, when Muammar el-Qaddafi scolded Tunisians that they should have had the patience to wait for Ben Ali to step down in 2014 and warned them about civil chaos. Of course, this was a warning to the Libyan people, who might feel inspired to topple their own tyrant. In Mauritania and Egypt\u2014yes, two other \u201cmoderate Arab countries\u201d\u2014copycat self-immolations are creating deepening worry\u2026. The Tunisian people are expecting justice for those who died, free and fair elections, and a new political order. But the three biggest lessons of their uprising have already been delivered far and wide. To the Arab dictators: you are not invincible. To the West: you are not needed. And to the Arab people: you are not powerless.<\/p>\n<p>January 14, 2011<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"scribd_iframe_embed\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.7729220222793488\" data-auto-height=\"false\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"600\" id=\"doc_36308\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/embeds\/250580567\/content?start_page=1&amp;view_mode=scroll&amp;access_key=key-MACfuBAZ3EcbonXfQIq5&amp;show_recommendations=true\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=806\">Do Epics Need Heroes?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><em>To mark<\/em> The Nation<em>\u2019s 150th anniversary, every morning this year The Almanac will highlight something that happened that day in history<span>\u2014an event, a birth, a death\u2014and how <\/span><\/em>The Nation <em>covered it. Get The Almanac every day (or every week) by signing up to the e-mail newsletter.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<footer>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>                Submit a correction<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>                Send a letter to the editor<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>                Reprints &amp; permissions<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n<p><span> Richard Kreitner<svg>\n<\/svg><br \/>\n<\/span>Richard Kreitner is a contributing writer and the author of <em>Break It Up: Secession, Division, and the Secret History of America\u2019s Imperfect Union<\/em>. His writings are at richardkreitner.com.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=804\">Todd Blanche Wants to Finish What \u201cDobbs\u201d Started<\/a><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><span> The Almanac<\/span>Today in history\u2014and how\u00a0<em>The Nation<\/em> covered it.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n<\/div>\n<p><input\/><br \/>\n<input\/><br \/>\n<\/footer>\n<\/article>\n<p>Ad Policy<br \/>\n<!-- <a class=\"inifiniteLoader\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/images\/new_infi_loader.gif\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a> -->\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Nation Magazine<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>January 14, 2011: President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali Flees Tunisia, Marking the First Victory of the Arab Spring - 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