ABSTRACT
Tunisia's experience might well contain lessons that can be helpful to others. But Tunisia's revolution is the product of the country's particular history. In fact, several of the critical factors in the revolution's success are products of the old regime. Tunisia's two authoritarian presidents built a political system that used civil society organizations and opposition parties to manage popular grievances and elite ambitions. Conducting political research in Tunisia meant stumbling around a puzzle palace of rumor, innuendo, and propaganda. Finally, we must consider the nature of the revolt itself. This was not a "Facebook Revolution", or a "Twitter Revolution", or a "Dignity Revolution". It was all of these things to some degree, but it was not any kind of "one thing" revolution. Like many revolutions, Tunisia's was the product of a broad array of changes and choices that took place slowly and across many different parts of society.
