Dictators and utopians are fond of fiddling with constitutions
Both are bad, though for different reasons
In 2014 tunisia adopted a new constitution, three years after Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the country’s dictator, was ousted in a revolt. It made Tunisia into a democracy that guaranteed religious freedom and equality between men and women. With the failure of the Arab spring, Tunisia’s enlightened charter became a beacon.
This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “The temptation to tinker”
More from International
Donald Trump has a strong foreign-policy hand, but could blow it
Bullying foreigners can be sadly effective, but also a dangerous distraction
Women warriors and the war on woke
Trump’s Pentagon pick wants women off the battlefield
Young people are having less fun
Youthful excess continues to decline
Why people over the age of 55 are the new problem generation
Baby-boomers are keeping their bad habits into retirement
Is the age of American air superiority coming to an end?
The growing effectiveness of air-defence systems could blunt the West’s most powerful weapons
Why warriors should welcome laws of war
Lessons from a 17th-century thinker on preventing crimes against humanity