Economic liberalisation and political change in Algeria: Theory and practice (1988-92 and 1994-99)

Article abstract:

Contrary to the dominant literature and policy orientations, evidence from the Algerian case in two periods of study suggests that no positive link exists between economic liberalisation and democratisation. Instead, placing the focus on the content and context of these processes reveals that they are seldom objectives in themselves. Between 1988 and 1992, democratisation was clearly instrumental in liberalising the economy and this proved to be fatal for both. As for the period 1994-99, economic liberalisation and democratisation were complementary strategies aimed at keeping the regime in place. Although they were successful in this goal, neither of them was consistently implemented or pursued.