Algeria's process of political liberalisation in the late 1980s failed to produce genuine transition to democracy. Instead, the country experienced a dreadful decade-long crisis, which besides affecting its societal development, had wider domestic and international repercussions. Despite the attention it drew, deep understanding of the drama failed to prevail. The reactions the crisis induced in Europe and the United States were informed by different strategic and normative considerations. The purpose of this article is to compare these transatlantic responses in order to shed light on their underlying dynamics and to attempt to provide enough empirical basis from which to extrapolate in the assessment of broader US and European democracy promotion efforts in the MENA region.

The Algerian crisis in European and US foreign policies: a hindsight analysis

1 Introduction Officially launched in 2002, the African Union (AU) is still a young organisation While it has made some progress, for example, with regard to the implementation of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), the organisation lags behind its ambitions of political, economic and social integration The establishment of the African Economic Community, for instance, originally envisaged for 2023 by the Abuja Treaty of 1991, is far behind schedule Similarly, the establishment of African Regional Stand-by Brigades has been constantly deferred in several regions It seems that the majority of African states does not want the continental integration project to gather further momentum, but wants to maintain the status quo--at least in several policy realms As a result, a 'culture of conservatism' has emerged and the AU will remain an intergovernmental organisation in the foreseeable future, by and large dependent upon the will of its members, who shape and shove the organisation and sometimes even undermine it In its current shape, the AU is far removed from Kwame Nkrumah's (and later on Muammar al-Gaddafi's) vision of a United States of Africa The reasons for the 'culture of conservatism' and the AU member states' general reluctance to engage in the deepening of continental integration are various They include an unwillingness to cede sovereignty, an unwillingness of national leaders to give up personal power, a lack of capacities and resources, as well as the fact that regional economic communities, which are developed simultaneously at the sub-regional level, are often more beneficial for its member states than the AU 2 The Status Quo in a Nutshell The AU has come a long way since the foundation of its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), in 1963 While the OAU was a loose alliance of states that strictly adhered to the principles of sovereignty and non-interference, the AU has since its formal launch in 2002 developed into a stronger institutionalised and diversified structure This includes a relatively strong Commission, a Pan-African Parliament (PAP) with consultative functions, and several institutions which promote peace and security Particularly the well-advanced security architecture, comprising the Peace and Security Council, the Continental Early Warning System, the regional Stand-by Brigades, (1)) and the Panel of the Wise, leaves observers with the impression that some progress has been made (Packer and Rukare 2002: 365-379; Ankomah 2007: 10-12; Makinda and Okumu 2008; Akokpari 2008: 85112; Williams 2007: 253-279; Franke 2009; Engel and Porto 2010; Franke 2010: 179-200) Beyond that, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), a monitoring process that looks inter alia into the political and socio-economic developments of voluntarily participating states, has been introduced and implemented in several African countries The South African based Business Day praised the AU in its early days for "present[ing] an opportunity for the continent to shrug off the interlude of denigration that some believe should be the continent's eternal fate" (Business Day, 16 August 2002) Generally speaking, there had been high hopes in Africa and beyond that the continent would move towards peace, stability, and socio-economic development after the AU superseded the OAU Contrary to the OAU, a strident defender of national sovereignty and the principle of non-interference in other states' internal affairs, Article 4(h) of the AU's Constitutive Act allows for the right of the Union to intervene in a Member State pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely: war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity as well as a serious threat to legitimate order to restore peace and stability to the Member State of the Union upon the recommendation of the Peace and Security Council (African Union 2000) As a result of this reorientation, the AU sent peacekeeping missions to Burundi (2003), Darfur (2005), Somalia (2007), the Comoros (2008), and most recently to Mali (2013) and the Central African Republic (2013) …

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A "Culture of Conservatism": How and Why African Union Member States Obstruct the Deepening of the Integration

Not all successful unarmed civil insurrections against dictatorships take place in a dramatic mass uprising with hundreds of thousands occupying central squares in the capital city. There have also been cases of nonviolent struggles against autocratic regimes that failed to topple the dictatorship in a revolutionary wave, but did succeed in forcing a series of legal, constitutional and institutional reforms over a period of several years that eventually evolved into a liberal democratic order. These more gradualist transitions have taken place across different regions and against different kinds of authoritarian systems. This webinar will tell the story of pro-democracy movements in three of these countries—Brazil, South Korea and Kenya—and how they were able to force, over time, autocratic governments to agree to substantive democratic reforms. By focusing on the role of civil society, this presentation challenges dominant, top-down, institution- and elite-based approaches to democratization.

/pdf/people-powered-and-non-violent-social-movements-forcing-2e1iu4ls.pdf

People-Powered and Non-Violent Social Movements: Forcing Gradualist Democratic Reforms in Authoritarian Societies

This paper seeks to answer a simple question: When do regional powers get involved in civil wars? Some civil wars see a significant involvement of regional actors, while others show a remarkable level of isolation. What explains this difference? This research answers this question by looking at two case studies: the Algerian civil war (1991–2002) and the Syrian civil war (2011–up to date). The paper identifies and develops five factors of regional involvement. These are: capabilities, regional dynamics, country’s relevance, regional security issues/containment and domestic–external links. civil wars are today one of the most prominent and deadly forms of conflict, and this paper contributes to understanding the important but understudied issue of regional involvement.

From domestic to regional: The civil war conundrum and the cases of Syria and Algeria

As Abdelaziz Bouteflika begins his fourth term as Algeria’s president, questions persist over his regime’s survival. Why has it endured while those of Tunisia’s Ben Ali and Libya’s Qaddafi have not? What has Bouteflika done differently? What sets Algeria apart? The aim of this paper is to address these questions by using Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way’s (Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes after the Cold War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) celebrated model for explaining democratisation to chart and examine Algeria’s links to European and North American countries, the amount of leverage Western governments have over Algiers, and the Bouteflika regime’s organisational strength. The paper concludes that Europe and North America have little appetite and only limited means to press Algeria to democratise and that the regime possesses strong coercive capabilities. Together, these factors have helped ensure Bouteflika’s survival.

/pdf/linkage-leverage-and-organisational-power-algeria-and-the-59328joh7a.pdf

Linkage, leverage and organisational power: Algeria and the Maghreb Spring

As one of the few former French colonies that gained independence after a long and bloody war, Algeria has cultivated an identity of political and economic autonomy. Historically, Algeria has been reluctant to accept meddling in its internal affairs. After its independence in 1962 and until 1978, when President Houari Boumediènne died, Algeria asserted itself actively in international affairs. It assumed leadership positions in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), and in international organisations where it often spoke on behalf of the Third World and confronted Western interests directly. Some observers expected independent Algeria to maintain its close preindependence political and military ties to the Soviet Union. In the view of Algerian officials, however, it was the Soviet Union that aligned itself with Algeria because of the latter’s role as a NAM and Third World leader. Although it continued to receive military assistance from the Soviets and still has arms agreements with Russia, Algeria’s experience with France influenced the arms-length approach it developed to avoid domination by foreign powers. Algeria was one of the first countries to nationalise its hydrocarbon sector, a move that other oil producers followed. Within the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Algeria has a reputation as a price hawk, demanding an appreciating price of oil and stronger resolve from OPEC to maintain it, even while Algeria has exceeded OPEC production quotas. Algeria has been less constrained by external powers than other oildependent states, sometimes leading to regional resentment and apprehension about the example Algeria sets. Regional leaders were alarmed, for example, when Mossadegh of Iran was toppled and replaced by the Shah after he began nationalising British petroleum assets. Algeria’s self-sufficient identity is linked to the process by which it gained independence – a process that has become institutionalised in political structures that may have outlasted their usefulness now that Algeria is making a transition to a more liberal political and economic system. At each turning point in

The Role of External Actors in Algeria's Transition

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The Role of External Actors in Algeria's Transition