​This study explains change in Tunisian foreign policy in the decade following the 2010 revolts. It contributes to Role Theory by explaining how regional audience expectations are powerful determinants of foreign policy roles. First, the article demonstrates how regional states came to expect Tunisia to follow a specific foreign policy role. Second, it explains how these expectations conditioned role enactment. The article shows how Tunisia developed and established a foreign policy posture of strategic distance, defined by non-partisanship in regional conflicts, adherence to legalism, and pursuit of economic interest. Strategic distance came to be expected by North African states that in turn, pushed Tunisia to maintain it.