ABSTRACT
A 1982 book on North African politics included a chapter entitled, “Tunisia: A Single-Party System Holds Change in Abeyance” (Stone 1982). Many would say that this title remains as appropriate today as then. Tunisia’s ruling party is no longer its only party. More social and political organizations function without official ties to the government. More women participate in politics at all levels than ever before. But looking back over the past five decades, one is struck primarily by how little the substance of Tunisian politics has changed, by how often the same issues have recurred, and by how often Tunisia’s rulers have used similar strategies to deal with those issues.
