This book examines the transition processes unleashed by the uprisings that took place in Egypt and Tunisia in 2011. It contributes to exploring institutional changes and continuities in the two countries taken individually and comparatively, as a way of advancing our knowledge on the Arab world, and (democratic) transitions.

Silvia Colombo is Head of the Mediterranean and Middle East Programme at the International Affairs Institute (IAI) in Rome. She works on Euro-Mediterranean cooperation and domestic and regional politics in the Arab world.

Introduction

1. Debating transition, explaining institutional development

2. Looking back

3. Writing constitutions in time

4. It all comes down to electoral politics

5. The deep state fights back

6. Forward looking

Conclusions

Bibliography

Appendix: List of interviews