Desafíos de la sociedad civil organizada en el turismo en Argelia: un enfoque de participación ciudadana

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the challenges civil society organizations are facing in Algeria, with a special focus on tourism development. On basis of a stakeholder approach and the Gramscian notion of civil society as a field of ideological competition, the study investigates the main features of tourism associations along with the obstacles hindering their proper performance. The backbone of the study is formed by a detailed qualitative investigation that includes in-depth interviews with fifteen governmental and non-governmental institutions related to tourism in Algiers, the capital city of Algeria, as well as the analysis of secondary materials like media reports, press releases, laws, and statistics. The findings reveal three main challenges that limit the role of tourism associations in Algeria. These challenges are closely related to three factors: (1) Legislation, more specifically the laws on associations that hinder the proper work of associations. (2) The Algerian political regime and its merely tyrannical relationship with civil society organizations, which the regime seeks to dominate in order to control civil society, instead of considering them as potential partners in fixing actual challenges for tourism development. (3) Socio-cultural factors, especially the lack of trust in institutions, which makes a great part of society unwilling to get involved in civil society organizations.