Electoral Processes and Street Protests in 21st Century Algeria: Features and Traits of Algerian Political Culture

Abstract

The following article discusses issues of electoral participation and street protest activity in 21st century Algeria. The work is based on the materials on Algerian election campaigns and results of the author's field research in the country. Describing the current political situation in Algeria, the author points out that the long established alienation between the civil society and government institutions is one of the most significant challenges for the country's development. The roots of this alienation are much deeper than the 2019 events when A. Bouteflika was overthrown due to mass protests and A. Tebboun became the President. Analyzing the electoral campaigns held since 2000 to this day, the author discovers that mutual distrust between the political elites and the society has been a characteristic trait of Algerian internal politics over the whole two decades. In this context, the Hirak movement founded in 2019 may be seen a an instrument of political transformation rather than merely a way to express popular discontent. However, even though this movement was successful enough to change the political leadership in Algeria, it hasn't managed to transform the essence of the system and update the social contract. Looking into the reasons for this failure, the author concludes that they stem from the specific traits of Algerian political culture formed in the colonial and early post-colonial eras.