Algerian Democratization
A history of Algerian democratization.
Contents
French Algeria
France began invading and occupying Algeria in 1830 with the seizure of Algiers. At first, it was ruled over as a colony.
In 1848, Algeria was reorganized into departments as an integral part of France.
Napoleon III established a client state in Algeria, effectively granting self-rule.
Following the armistice of June 22, 1940, Algeria was officially unoccupied. However, the French North African ports hosted a tenuous political situation in the form of the French Navy. The armistice specifically allowed France to retain a militarized navy that would not be compelled to fight the British. From the German perspective, the French Navy was a dormant threat that must either be swiftly absorbed or left unprovoked. From the French perspective, their Navy was all that remained to bargain for, or in the worst case defend, the zone libre. As a compromise, a significant portion of the Navy was relocated to Mers-el-Kébir under command of François Darlan. Churchill was unwilling to leave any possibility of seizure however, and ordered Operation Catapult against the naval base.
Through Operation Torch, the Allies captured Algeria. By 1943, Algiers had became the seat of De Gaulle's Free France. The next year, he also founded a Provisional Government there.
War of Independence
The Sétif, Guelma and Kherrata massacres are recognized as a focal point for Algerian nationalism and independence movement. In May 1945, concurrent with the German surrender, the French army and settler militias attacked anti-colonial demonstrators. Dozens of settlers were killed in revenge attacks; tens of thousands of Algerians were systematically genocided.
The Algerian War of Independence began on Toussaint Rouge (Red All Saints Day) in 1954. The FLN launched a series of attacks against the French colonial administration (esp. police infrastructure).
The French government entered a crisis largely as a result of this war, leading to De Gaulle seizing power in 1958.
De Gaulle negotiated a cease fire and independence referendum with the FLN. The Évian Accords were signed in March 1962. Two referenda were held, in France and Algeria, on April 8th and July 1st respectively. Following overwhelming majorities, France ceded all claims on July 3rd. The 5th is recognized as Independence Day.
There was a mass exodus of French nationals and pied noirs from Algeria to France. This was in part due to anticipated revenge on Algerians who colaborated with the colonial regime. This was especially true among the Harkis, or Algerian Muslim auxilaries.
Ben Youcef Ben Khedda, the leader of the FLN's provisional government, was initially recognized as the head of state. Within a month however, the Oujda Group of military officers coerced him into resigning in favor of Ben Bella.
The first legislative elections for a People's National Assembly were held in September. Ben Bella as prime minister established a single-party state under the FLN. Land reform was implemented and property seizures were retroactively legalized. In a simultaneous referendum and election, the Constitution of Algeria was approved and Ben Bella became the first president in September 1963. He maintained relations with both the United States and the USSR, seeking to establish a Third Way in the model of Tito.
Also in September 1963, the Sand War erupted over the border between Algeria and Morocco. The fighting lasted only a month but a formal ceasefire was not agreed until the following year, and the border was not settled until the Accord of Ifrane in 1972. This was the first intervention by the OAU.
Revolutionary Council
Boumédiène, minister of defense and a key leader of the Oujda Group, seized power in a 1965 coup. Through the Revolutionary Council that he chaired, he abolished both the constitution and the People's National Assembly.
Tahar Zbiri attempted a military coup in 1967, but Boumédiène suppressed it then centralized his control.
A National Charter (chartre nationale) that commited the state to specific, socialist ideologies was ratified by referendum in July 1976. A few months later in November, a new constitution was similarly ratified, through which the People's National Assembly was re-established. Boumédiène was elected president in December unopposed, and legislative elections were held in February.
Following Boumédiène's death in 1978, Bendjedid emerged as the party's chosen successor. He was a militarist but a political moderate, and pushed reforms to open the economy and break up state owned companies. He also made compromised with the Berber Spring movement, which opposed Arabization in education. He also compromised with Islamists, reforming the legal code to mirror sharia law.
Relations between Algeria and Morocco were extremely strained in this period. Algeria has officially backed the Polisario Front since its founding. While Boumédiène began negotiations that would form the Accord of Ifrane as early as 1969, the treaty was not agreed for several years and Morocco neglected to ratify it until 1989.
High Council of State
Amid a worsening economy, discontent with the government escalated until the October Riots in 1988. Following a violent suppression, Bendjedid attempted to resolve this with compromise again; he removed many senior government officials who were perceived as corrupt, new parties were formed to compete with the FLN, and a referendum in the next year dropped socialism from the constitution and guaranteed many rights and civil liberties. However, the FLN then lost provincial elections in 1990 to the FIS, leading to the adoption of electoral reforms that supported FLN dominance. FIS retaliated with a general strike.
As a final attempt at compromise, Bendjedid declared martial law while asking Sid Ahmed Ghozali, minister of foreign affairs, to form a new reconciliation government. Nonetheless, the FIS won new elections in December 1991.
Several key members of the cabinet and leaders of the FLN (esp. Khaled Nezzar, minister of defense) forced Bendjedid to resign, established the High Council of State, and declared the elections invalid. Most of the leadership of the FIS, especially Ali Belhadj, was arrested; only a few escaped the country into exile. Mohamed Boudiaf, exiled leader of the PSR, was invited to chair the junta. Boudiaf was however assassinated later that year, leaving Ali Kafi to take leadership.
A network of terrorist and insurgent organizations emerged across Algeria: the Islamic Armed Movement ( Mouvement Islamique Armé, MIA), the Movement for an Islamic State (MEI), the Armed Islamic Group (Groupe Islamique Armé, GIA), and so on. Over time, most of these were consolidated into the Islamic Salvation Army (AIS), which nominally was subordinate to the FIS.
The GIA in particular maintained a separate identity. Based in and around Algiers, they launched a terror campaign by assassinating journalists, academics, foreigners, and women. The Bentalha and Rais massacres were also notable atrocities.
In late 1994, leaders of opposition parties (including Rabah Kebir, a leader of the FIS in exile) met in Rome. The Sant'Egidio platform they agreed to was a plan for restoring peace and democracy in Algeria.
The government meanwhile was divided between dialoguiste and éradicateur factions, disagreeing in how to settle the civil war. Zéroual succeeded Kafi as chair in 1994, and then also won the presidential election held in November 1995.
In a "flawed popular referendum", a new constitution was ratified in 1996. This re-centralized power in the presidency and added an upper house to the legislature, of which a third of the members are appointed by the president.
The GIA remained committed to war, and actually began attacking the AIS.
In large part due to the GIA attacks, the FIS and the AIS came to embrace the peace process. The AIS declared a ceasefire in 1997. Legislative elections were held that year, in which the new RND won. The RND was largely established around Zéroual's presidency, although he technically remained an independent.
Bouteflika Era
Zéroual declined to seek another term. Bouteflika was elected in April 1999. He immediately pushed the Civil Concord Law through the Parliament, which was followed by a September referendum to ratify it. Amnesty was offered to rebels that surrendered themselves to probation; the AIS rapidly disintegrated as members took the opportunity.
Beginning with that 1999 referendum, all elections held under Bouteflika would be largely boycotted and the results disputed.
The GIA dwindled but remained a cohesive threat. It splintered, creating the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (Groupe Salafiste pour la Prédication et le Combat, GSPC) in 1998. The Algerian government received substantial assistance from the United States following the September 11th attack. A successful operation in February 2002 killed Antar Zouabri, effectively ending the GIA. The GSPC merged with al-Qaeda in 2003 and became al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
Bouteflika pushed another referendum in 2005. The Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation established general amnesty for both rebels and government forces. Belhadj was also released from prison. Notably, opposition parties were barred from campaigning on radio or television.
Bouteflika announced in 2006 his intention to run for an unconstitutional third term. By 2008, the Parliament had amended the constitution removing term limits.
The government's emergency powers continued until the Arab Spring protests in 2011.
In February 2019, Bouteflika announced he would seek a fifth term. This led to mass protests; a month later he retracted his candidacy, and a month after that he resigned outright. Abdelmadjid Tebboune was elected in December.