Sami Bensassi is an economist who works on North Africa at the University of Portsmouth.
The Tunisian revolution: a second decolonization?
The urban, educated, upper middle class were fed up with the Ben Ali clique which they viewed as corrupt. Thus, in contrast to Syria, this section of society chose to support the 2011 revolution which started in the midst of the poor Tunisian interior, and their support was pivotal.