Revolution in Tunisia — what led to the movement
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Flip to reveal answersIn what year did Ben Ali take power in Tunisia, and how?
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Question
In what year did Ben Ali take power in Tunisia, and how?
Answer
1987 — he removed the elderly Habib Bourguiba from power in a bloodless takeover.
Question
Name two forms of repression used by Ben Ali's regime.
Answer
Political imprisonment of critics/journalists, and control/censorship of the media (also surveillance and torture of detainees).
Question
What was Ennahda?
Answer
A banned Islamist political party whose members were frequently jailed under Ben Ali.
Question
What economic model did Tunisia follow from the 1990s, and what was the result?
Answer
Neoliberal reforms (privatisation, cutting subsidies) — growth looked good on paper but benefits were unevenly shared, leaving high youth unemployment.
Question
Compare coastal Tunisia and inland Tunisia (like Sidi Bouzid) economically.
Answer
Coastal cities (Tunis, Sousse) received investment and tourism; inland towns like Sidi Bouzid were starved of jobs and services — regional inequality.
Question
Who was Mohamed Bouazizi?
Answer
A 26-year-old street vendor in Sidi Bouzid whose self-immolation on 17 December 2010 triggered the Tunisian uprising.
Question
What exactly happened to Bouazizi before he self-immolated?
Answer
A municipal official confiscated his fruit-and-vegetable cart and scales (he was selling without a permit); he was refused a hearing when he complained to the governor's office.
Question
When did Bouazizi die of his injuries?
Answer
4 January 2011.
Question
How did protest spread from Sidi Bouzid to the rest of Tunisia?
Answer
Mobile phone footage and social media (especially Facebook) carried the story nationwide within days, bypassing state censorship.
Question
Distinguish the underlying causes of the Tunisian revolution from its trigger.
Answer
Underlying causes: repression/censorship and economic failure/unemployment (built up over years). Trigger: Bouazizi's self-immolation in December 2010, which ignited existing anger.
Question
For Paper 1 Q1, what should you do with a source's content?
Answer
State a specific detail the source's content shows, then explain how that detail directly answers the inquiry question — not just summarise the source.
Question
For Paper 1 Q2, what four things about a source's context should you consider?
Answer
Its origin, purpose, time and place — who made it, why, when, and where, and how that shapes its use as evidence.
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Topic 5.2 hub
Revolution in Tunisia (1989–2015)
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