The storm of democratic change that swept through the Middle East a decade ago has brought an endless loop of despair to many countries: street killings in Egypt have intensified, Libya's civil war has been suspended but in disarray, and Yemen and Syria are still mired in civil war. Just as the Arab Spring has evolved into the Arab Winter, Tunisia seems to be the only country to ‘head on the right track’ for democratization following the revolution, with a new constitution and fair elections. In 2015, Tunisia was elected “Country of the Year 2014” by The Economist. In 2015, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet for its contribution to the country's democratization process.

However, it is important to note that several years ago, many politicians, scholars, and media practitioners boasted about the ‘Yemeni model’ following the de-empowerment of Ali Abdullah Saleh, and even proposed to apply the model to other Middle Eastern countries including Syria. Why did Yemen gradually move towards division and civil war subsequent to a peaceful power transition, eventually end up becoming a ‘failed state’? Is the ‘Tunisia model’ indestructible? This chapter intends to summarize the experience, lessons and challenges of the state building process of Tunisia and Yemen in the post-revolutionary era, with the aim of grasping the political trends of the two countries. The dynamics of the post-revolutionary state building in the two cases can be leveraged to study other countries in the Middle East.

Endogenous and Exogenous State Building Perspectives and their Limitations

The rise of the modern nation-state is not only an important theme in the modern history of the world but is also a remarkable symbol of the progress of human civilization. The concept of the modern state emerged in the early liberalist literature of Hobbes, Locke, and Adam Smith, which became a fundamental premise of liberal theory. In the mid and late 20th century, along with the state reconstruction of many Western European countries after World War II and the emergence of new states in Asia, Africa and Latin America, there was a boom in state- building theory.