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Algeria
Government and Politics
![[GIF]](http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/algeria/dz04_00a.gif)
Mosque in traditional style in Ghardaia, in north central
Algeria
ALGERIAN POLITICAL CULTURE and government reflect the impact
of the country's colonial history and its cultural identification.
The legacy of the revolutionary War of Independence (1954-62)
and its lingering implications are still evident in recent political
events and in the evolution of political processes. A strong authoritative
tendency and the supremacy of the military, both remnants of the
war for liberation, have resulted in a sharply divided society
in which the political elite remains highly remote from, and generally
unaccountable to, the masses of its impoverished, unemployed,
and dissatisfied citizens. State-supported socialism, largely
fed by petroleum exports, and "depoliticization" of the masses
during the 1970s replaced any real source of legitimacy for the
regime and left the masses almost no form of political expression
short of violent confrontation.
The consequences of this political tradition materialized in
January 1992 when a conservative military coup overturned four
years of significant political and economic liberalization undertaken
by President Chadli Benjedid in the late 1980s. Benjedid's extensive
political and economic reforms, pursued to restore political legitimacy
and public confidence in the government leadership, had opened
the way for political opposition. The rise of the Islamic Salvation
Front (Front Islamique du Salut--FIS) as the most significant
opposition group threatened to challenge the secular orientation
of the state. The coup took place only days before the second
round of the first freely contested national elections, elections
that were likely to usher in a new government dominated by Islamists
(sometimes seen as fundamentalists). Since then, the virtual elimination
of constitutional government and the resurrection of military
authoritarianism have returned Algeria to the familiar situation
of placing power in the hands of a small elite, nullifying almost
all of the democratic freedoms and many of the free-market reforms
of the preceding few years.
Algeria's bloody overthrow of colonial rule resulted in independence
in 1962 and a legacy of an authoritarian political structure dominated
by several competing interests. The main actors in the national
revolution continued to govern the Algerian polity after independence,
struggling during the immediate postindependence period and throughout
postindependence Algerian history for political control. This
tradition has evolved into a triangular system of government in
which the army, party, and state apparatus share power but continually
compete. Benjedid's reforms in the 1980s effectively eliminated
the party (the National Liberation Front--Front de Libération
Nationale-- FLN) from a prominent position in the political configuration
while strengthening his hand as president through constitutional
reforms. The military, also having suffered a reduction of authority
with the political changes implemented by the 1989 constitution,
appeared to have little tolerance for the liberalization visualized
by Benjedid and the more liberal faction of the FLN. Resurfacing
in the early 1990s to "ensure the security of the state," the
military has demonstrated once again that the army remains the
dominant arm of the political triangle. Recent political events
are as much a reflection as a determinant of political culture
in Algeria. The nation in late 1993 was under a state of emergency,
its condition since the military coup in January 1992. Martial
law ruled, essentially invalidating all political structures and
institutions. The outcome of this period will be determined not
only by the political leaders but also by civil society, political
competition within the state, and by mass culture. If the Algerian
state is to overcome its political crisis, it needs to resolve
its myriad socioeconomic problems. If it is to successfully conquer
its economic problems, it will need to become more democratic
and decentralized. The current situation is potentially dangerous
because of the explosive nature of the political tensions inherent
in the repression of a discontented population.
Data as of December 1993
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