Tunisia’s leader will disrupt diplomatic establishment

Subject

The Tunisian president's foreign policy agenda.

Significance

On February 7, President Kais Saied dramatically sacked Moncef Baati, Tunisia’s permanent representative at the UN. Baati had been sitting on the UN Security Council, where the country took up a seat last month, and was chairing its counter-terrorism committee. His dismissal, and the harsh criticism issued against him by the presidency, have alienated many civil servants. This carries risks for Saied, a retired law professor and political outsider, who as president is now solely responsible for determining foreign policy, on which he has some unconventional views, as well as ambitious goals.

Impacts

• Civil servants are likely to obstruct or even actively sabotage initiatives by the presidency.
• Saied may seek to replace career diplomats with political appointees to bypass institutional resistance.
• Tunisia’s next UN ambassador will have little scope for autonomous action.
• Morocco will block Saied’s plans to initiate a regional dialogue over Western Sahara’s status.