The Politics of Algeria: Domestic Issues and International Relations

315 Pages·2019·3.192 MB·English

by  Yahia H. Zoubir

THE POLITICS OF ALGERIA
This book brings together Algerian-based scholars and Algerians in the diaspora to
address the many, salient issues facing Algeria, the largest country in Africa and the
Middle East. Until February 22, 2019, Algeria looked like the beacon of stability in
the region, for the authoritarian regime eluded the so-called Arab Spring, which
resulted in chaos in a number of countries in the Middle East and North Africa
(MENA).
The authors of the chapters in this book are a mix of sociologists, economists,
political scientists, linguists, and international relations specialists who have used the
theoretical and methodological instruments in their respective fields to decipher the
complexities that characterise the Algerian political system. In the domestic part,
some of the chapters deal with issues seldom tackled in Maghreb studies, namely,
the language and identities issues, which are at the forefront of the protest movement
since February 2019. Other chapters analyse the role of the elites, the emergence of
the new entrepreneurs, the future of energy, gender, media, and human rights, the
predicament of the rentier state, gender, language, identity issues, and the resource
curse. The international relations part examines Algeria’s roles in the Mediterranean
and in the Sahel, the strategic partnership with China, the complicated relations with
France, and the relations with Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Exploring Algeria’s transformation, this collection is an original addition to
the books on the Maghreb that will be a key resource to students and scholars
interested in the developing world, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Yahia H. Zoubir is professor of international studies and international manage-
ment and director of research in geopolitics at KEDGE Business School, France.
He has taught at various universities in China, Europe, the United States,
Indonesia, India, South Korea, and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
He has published numerous books and articles internationally.
Picture of Hirak’s demonstration in Algiers taken by Adel Hamaizia
THE POLITICS OF
ALGERIA
Domestic Issues and
International Relations
Edited by Yahia H. Zoubir
First published 2020
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2020 selection and editorial matter, Yahia H. Zoubir; individual
chapters, the contributors
The right of Yahia H. Zoubir to be identified as the author of the
editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has
been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other
means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
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or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Zoubir, Yahia H., editor.
Title: The politics of Algeria : domestic issues and international
relations / edited by Yahia H. Zoubir.
Description: London ; New York, NY : Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group,
2020. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019030518 (print) | LCCN 2019030519 (ebook) | ISBN
9781138330962 (hardback) | ISBN 9781138331006 (paperback) | ISBN
9780429824876 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9780429824869 (ebook) | ISBN
9780429824852 (mobi)
Subjects: LCSH: Algeria--Politics and government--1990- | Algeria--Foreign
relations--21st century. | Algeria--Social conditions--21st century.
Classification: LCC DT295.6 .P65 2020 (print) | LCC DT295.6 (ebook) | DDC
965.05/4--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019030518
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019030519
ISBN: 978-1-138-33096-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-33100-6 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-44749-5 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Lumina Datamatics Limited
To my adored grandchildren Haizam and Tilelli.
To my sister Dalila.
To the Martyrs of the Algerian Revolution
who sacrificed their lives for freedom.
To the Algerian people for their struggle
for a free and democratic state.

CONTENTS
List of figures x
List of tables xi
Preface xii
Acknowledgements xiv
Notes on contributors xv
Introduction: the making of a new republic? xxiii
PART I
Domestic issues 1
1 Algeria in the 2000s: a rentier system in crisis 3
Nadji Safir
2 The misuse of oil wealth in economic development
and why institutions matter: an Algerian case study 16
Mohammed Akacem
3 Algeria beyond oil and natural gas: challenges
and options 32
Sarin Abado and Smail Khennas
4 Algeria’s elites and intellectuals 48
Aissa Kadri
viii Contents
5 Policing Algeria under Bouteflika: from police state
to civil state 61
Rachid Tlemçani
6 Social and political attitudes of the Algerian youth:
a longitudinal study 75
Mohamed Farid Azzi
7 Jihadism in Algeria: from lethal to manageable 98
Dalia Ghanem
8 Gender equality for Algerian women 109
Fatma Oussedik
9 Power, media, and human rights in Algeria 123
Chérif Dris
10 Language and identity in Algeria: deconstructing
the myth of oneness 136
Mohand Tilmatine
11 The language situation of twenty-first-century Algeria:
navigating the ideology 150
Hayat Messekher and Mohamed Miliani
PART II
International relations 165
12 Algeria in the Mediterranean 167
Ahmed Mahiou
13 Algeria–France: permanent normalisation 181
Aomar Baghzouz
14 Understanding Algeria’s foreign policy in the Sahel 196
Abdelkader Abderrahmane
15 China’s relations with Algeria: a strategic partnership? 210
Yahia H. Zoubir and Youcef Hamitouche
Contents ix
16 Transnational trade and new types of entrepreneurs
in Algeria 226
Saïd Belguidoum
17 Algeria’s foreign policy in the Gulf: Iran and the
GCC states 237
Fatiha Dazi-Héni
18 Algeria and the conflict in Western Sahara:
principles and geopolitics 251
Souadou Lagdaf and Nardjes Flici
Index 267