ABSTRACT
While Turkish-Tunisian relations used to be amicable, but not very intense, the ‘Arab Spring’ provided an opportunity to intensify the bilateral ties: Turkey vowed to support Tunisia’s democratisation and Tunisia could profit from a partner with great economic potential. This chapter asks how Turkish and Tunisian actors perceived the possibilities for Tunisian-Turkish cooperation after the revolution. Based on a systematic content analysis of Tunisian and Turkish statements, the chapter finds that the bilateral relationship is no longer limited to the intergovernmental level and that economic, political and cultural cooperation intensified. Still, however, bureaucratic, and increasingly also security, problems persist.
