ULUSLARARASI ILISKILER-INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, cilt.14, sa.55, ss.75-92, 2017 (SSCI)
This study focuses on democratization process in Tunisia since January 14th, 2011, the date President Zine el Abidine BenAli left the country. The article examines democratization and normalization process of Tunisia as a starting point of the Arab Uprisings through the conceptual framework of elite choice theory. The theory postulates that if softliner regime and opposition elites cooperate, democratization process succeeds. Based upon this assumption, this paper seeks to answer how it was possible for Tunisia to follow a more successful transition path when compared to the other countries in the region through the steps and policies implemented by the representatives of the leading softliner actors in the Tunisian regime and opposition.