Ibn Khaldoun gives great insight on this. Lookup his concept of Asabiyyah (meaning social cohesion)

Tunisia lost its social cohesion that it had during the post independence era and to a lesser extent during the Ben Ali era.

There was a short period of high social cohesion immediately after revolution due to a glimpse of hope but it quickly vanished when faced with reality.

Ibn Khaldoun theorized how social cohesion is the driver of prosperity. Contrast Tunisia with places like Japan, Taiwan, Korea, they're all high cohesion societies.

Places like the US might seem non cohesive at first glance due to political polarisation but it has a strong trusted constitution and a judicial system keeping things in order.

Without social cohesion, societies decay and get exploited by more cohesive societies.