The goal of this paper is to analyze how the EU post-Arab Spring approach is implemented in the local context of the MENA countries. Traditionally, the implementation analysis of the EU policies in the area has adopted a “top-down” perspective which looks at implementation from the EU point of view, starting from the authoritative decision and analyzing the role of the EU centrally located actors and instruments. The contention here is that implementation arises from the interaction of the policy and the local setting. The purpose of this work is to adopt a “reversed focus” in the implementation analysis of the EU policies by analyzing the current reality on the ground. For this purpose, Tunisia is here selected as a case study which is part of a broader comparative analysis.
