Since the first wave of protests erupted in the Arab world in the wake of Mohamed Bouazizi’s immolation, countries such as Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and Syria have followed very different paths. So far, Tunisia seems to be the only place where a democratic transition, despite numerous crises and two political assassinations, is taking shape. While staying away from the triumphalist rhetoric of the nascent Tunisian « model », « path », or « exception », this paper seeks to reflect upon the specific trajectory Tunisia has taken since January 2011. In particular, it will focus on the notions of « national dialogue », « compromise », and « consensus » that have played a major role in the transition period, both as descriptive and prescriptive categories. A number explanations are often put forward to explain the centrality of such concepts, that alternately underline the specificity of the supposedly peaceful access to independence, the Tunisian « personality » (shakhsiyya), the historical tradition of pluralism (Tunisia as a “mosaic” of cultures)… While all these arguments may bear some degree of truth, they remain too broad and somewhat too essentialist to provide us with a satisfactory understanding of the post-revolution politics. This paper seeks to analyze the ingredients that led to the relative success of the “national dialogue” and that made ideals of of compromise and consensus so efficient, by looking at two specific phenomena. First, I will demonstrate how the procedural debate about rules and institutions has been, at each stage of the process, so tightly interwoven with the dividing and sensitive discussion about identity that it produced a depolarizing effect on the latter. Second I will look at the trajectory of a number of key players of the national dialogue, before and after the revolution, to show how this dialogue continues a conversation and a shared itinerary that has begun way before 2010. Drawing upon an approach that combines a series of interviews, a close analysis of the debates that took place at the National Constituent Assembly, and the study of the strategy of the leaders of the national dialogue, this paper shows how Tunisians are inventing a new form of politics both through references to the past (the fear of the return of despotism/istibdad) and commitment to the future (references to the environment, social justice, gender equality).