Économie politique de la révolution tunisienne. Les groupes sociaux face au capitalisme de copinage

The Tunisian revolution has economic and social causes. It was carried out against exclusion and crony capitalism. We thus show that it can be apprehended by a political economy approach, which is apt to explain the collapse of authoritarianism. The latter was able to remain in place thanks to compromises that linked the State to the poor classes, to labour and to capital. Nevertheless, the insertion of the Tunisian economy into globalization ?from the bottom?, its inability to absorb graduates and the unjustified enrichment of the clans, upset the equilibrium of the system, and especially the social contract based on ascendant social mobility and the ideal of meritocracy. These ruptures helped social groups to unite in calling for the departure of Ben Ali and his family.