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The price of stability

Larsson, Disa LU (2009) STVK01 20092
Department of Political Science
Abstract
Algeria, alongside many other countries, was not swept up in the so called third wave of democratization. Instead, the wake of some political opening, it experienced a return to authoritarian rule. With the holding of regular elections in a multi-party system that allowed for relatively free press, traditional democratization theory would predict political reform. Arguing that this liberalized form of authoritarianism cannot be analyzed with traditional transition theory, this study adopts rather recent theoretical approach. In using an historical-institutional approach, developed by Jason Brownlee, the conditions of authoritarianism in Algeria are examined. The influence of a number of variables are analyzed and related to the... (More)
Algeria, alongside many other countries, was not swept up in the so called third wave of democratization. Instead, the wake of some political opening, it experienced a return to authoritarian rule. With the holding of regular elections in a multi-party system that allowed for relatively free press, traditional democratization theory would predict political reform. Arguing that this liberalized form of authoritarianism cannot be analyzed with traditional transition theory, this study adopts rather recent theoretical approach. In using an historical-institutional approach, developed by Jason Brownlee, the conditions of authoritarianism in Algeria are examined. The influence of a number of variables are analyzed and related to the implications of the theory.
Military is still highly present even after the president made efforts to civilianize his image. A strong power coalition is made up of military generals, the ruling parties and economic elites. Opposition is disunited with the legal parties co-opted or internally weak and Islamist parties excluded from the electoral process. Repression of Islamist groups is conducted with the tacit consent of foreign powers with an interest in political stability. Democracy is a façade well enough engineered to gain the regime international recognition.
The historical-institutional theory does well explain the case of Algeria even as some modifications and subjects for future research are suggested. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Larsson, Disa LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
The conditions of authoritarianism in Algeria
course
STVK01 20092
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
transition, authoritarianism, liberalization, Algeria, elections opposition.
language
English
id
1526208
date added to LUP
2010-02-01 11:41:20
date last changed
2010-02-01 11:41:20
@misc{1526208,
  abstract     = {{Algeria, alongside many other countries, was not swept up in the so called third wave of democratization. Instead, the wake of some political opening, it experienced a return to authoritarian rule. With the holding of regular elections in a multi-party system that allowed for relatively free press, traditional democratization theory would predict political reform. Arguing that this liberalized form of authoritarianism cannot be analyzed with traditional transition theory, this study adopts rather recent theoretical approach. In using an historical-institutional approach, developed by Jason Brownlee, the conditions of authoritarianism in Algeria are examined. The influence of a number of variables are analyzed and related to the implications of the theory. 
Military is still highly present even after the president made efforts to civilianize his image. A strong power coalition is made up of military generals, the ruling parties and economic elites. Opposition is disunited with the legal parties co-opted or internally weak and Islamist parties excluded from the electoral process. Repression of Islamist groups is conducted with the tacit consent of foreign powers with an interest in political stability. Democracy is a façade well enough engineered to gain the regime international recognition. 
The historical-institutional theory does well explain the case of Algeria even as some modifications and subjects for future research are suggested.}},
  author       = {{Larsson, Disa}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The price of stability}},
  year         = {{2009}},
}