January 18, 2011 2:36PM # Tunisia: An Omen for Other U.S.-Backed Regimes in the Muslim World By [Malou Innocent](https://www.cato.org/people/malou-innocent) --- SHARE The [sudden collapse](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/16/world/africa/16tunis.html?ref=tunisia) of the Tunisian government on Friday underscores the turmoil toward which the Muslim world seems inescapably drifting. As I [wrote earlier today](http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-skeptics/populist-discontent-tunisia-omen-other-us-backed-regimes-the-4739) at The National Interest Online:* > Today, as during the Cold War, policy makers in Washington seem to expect economic growth to act as a substitute for political liberty, thereby ignoring the instinctive desire for freedom. Despotic leaders love to adopt pseudo-economic “reforms” to mask their coercive measures and perpetuate the status quo, but in the end, the institutionalized oppression imposed by ruling elites cannot be appeased in that way. Time will tell whether Tunisia and its neighbors evolve toward a freer and more prosperous future. But either way, human history confirms that fundamental change is a gradual and often painful process, and that more often than not forces erected to suppress individual freedoms eventually break down or unravel… [Check it out!](http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-skeptics/populist-discontent-tunisia-omen-other-us-backed-regimes-the-4739) ##### Related Tags [Defense and Foreign Policy](https://www.cato.org/defense-foreign-policy) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).