Silvia Colombo is Head of the Mediterranean and Middle East Programme at the International Affairs Institute (IAI) in Rome. She works on Euro-Mediterranean cooperation and domestic and regional politics in the Arab world.

• Introduction1. Debating transition, explaining institutional development2. Looking back3. Writing constitutions in time4. It all comes down to electoral politics5. The deep state fights back6. Forward lookingConclusionsBibliographyAppendix: List of interviews

"Years after the Arab Spring the reasons of failure and success of different attempts of transition are still largely undetermined. Through an enlightening binary comparison of Egypt and Tunisia and thorough, first-hand field research, Colombo presents the most advanced analysis of the phenomenon to date. This is a compulsory reading for anyone interested in the Middle East and North Africa as a scholar, student or practitioner." - Leonardo Morlino, Professor of Political Science at Luiss University, Italy and former President of the International Political Science Association (IPSA)"Tunisia and Egypt: so close and yet so far apart. Both countries were bent on unsustainable paths, both succeeded in overthrowing entrenched dictators. Yet after a brief moment of general euphoria, Tunisia and Egypt took dramatically divergent paths. Why? Silvia Colombo meticulously dissects the institutional dynamics underpinning and explaining changes and continuities in Tunisia and Egypt. A must read for anyone wishing to understand the contrasting and contested trajectories of North Africa and the Middle East."- Nathalie Tocci, Director of the International Affairs Institute (IAI), Italy and Special Advisor to the EU High Representative Federica Mogherini

Silvia Colombo is Head of the Mediterranean and Middle East Programme at the International Affairs Institute (IAI) in Rome. She works on Euro-Mediterranean cooperation and domestic and regional politics in the Arab world.

• Introduction1. Debating transition, explaining institutional development2. Looking back3. Writing constitutions in time4. It all comes down to electoral politics5. The deep state fights back6. Forward lookingConclusionsBibliographyAppendix: List of interviews

"Years after the Arab Spring the reasons of failure and success of different attempts of transition are still largely undetermined. Through an enlightening binary comparison of Egypt and Tunisia and thorough, first-hand field research, Colombo presents the most advanced analysis of the phenomenon to date. This is a compulsory reading for anyone interested in the Middle East and North Africa as a scholar, student or practitioner." - Leonardo Morlino, Professor of Political Science at Luiss University, Italy and former President of the International Political Science Association (IPSA)"Tunisia and Egypt: so close and yet so far apart. Both countries were bent on unsustainable paths, both succeeded in overthrowing entrenched dictators. Yet after a brief moment of general euphoria, Tunisia and Egypt took dramatically divergent paths. Why? Silvia Colombo meticulously dissects the institutional dynamics underpinning and explaining changes and continuities in Tunisia and Egypt. A must read for anyone wishing to understand the contrasting and contested trajectories of North Africa and the Middle East."- Nathalie Tocci, Director of the International Affairs Institute (IAI), Italy and Special Advisor to the EU High Representative Federica Mogherini

Silvia Colombo is Head of the Mediterranean and Middle East Programme at the International Affairs Institute (IAI) in Rome. She works on Euro-Mediterranean cooperation and domestic and regional politics in the Arab world.

• Introduction1. Debating transition, explaining institutional development2. Looking back3. Writing constitutions in time4. It all comes down to electoral politics5. The deep state fights back6. Forward lookingConclusionsBibliographyAppendix: List of interviews

"Years after the Arab Spring the reasons of failure and success of different attempts of transition are still largely undetermined. Through an enlightening binary comparison of Egypt and Tunisia and thorough, first-hand field research, Colombo presents the most advanced analysis of the phenomenon to date. This is a compulsory reading for anyone interested in the Middle East and North Africa as a scholar, student or practitioner." - Leonardo Morlino, Professor of Political Science at Luiss University, Italy and former President of the International Political Science Association (IPSA)"Tunisia and Egypt: so close and yet so far apart. Both countries were bent on unsustainable paths, both succeeded in overthrowing entrenched dictators. Yet after a brief moment of general euphoria, Tunisia and Egypt took dramatically divergent paths. Why? Silvia Colombo meticulously dissects the institutional dynamics underpinning and explaining changes and continuities in Tunisia and Egypt. A must read for anyone wishing to understand the contrasting and contested trajectories of North Africa and the Middle East."- Nathalie Tocci, Director of the International Affairs Institute (IAI), Italy and Special Advisor to the EU High Representative Federica Mogherini