It is now almost six years since the political uprisings began in North Africa. The protestors demanded fundamental political and economic changes in systems that had been in existence in the countries of the region for several decades. Enough time has now passed for an assessment of how much change has in fact occurred and to determine whether the countries in North Africa have been successful in meeting the demands of their populations as expressed at protests in the beginning of 2011.
An examination of the comparative experiences of four North African countries—Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia—can shed some light on the extent of the political and economic changes that have taken place. While all four countries faced similar economic and political challenges, they adopted differing approaches to address them. The key questions are what types of approaches were attempted and what were the results. An analysis of the political and economic developments since 2011 in each of them can provide answers to this question, as well as possible lessons for the future. With the benefit of hindsight, it is possible to determine what the countries should have done to achieve their goals and what challenges remain for them in the future.