An actor of modernization in the 19th century, and a symbol of the fight for national liberations, and of sovereignty after the independences, the Constitution has never ceased to be instrumentalized by the leaders in the republican Arabic countries such as Tunisia, Egypt and Algeria, to the point of being reduced, in itself as well as in the principles that it represents, to just a "symbol". Instead of being a way of limiting the power of the leaders, it has been transformed by them into an "instrument of power" (specifically by interfering with the process of elaboration of the Constitution, by way of exercising exceptional powers, and mainly by the constant revisions of the Constitutions). This situation has led to the failure of constitutionalism, and has been one of the causes of the current revolts of the Arabic peoples.