The Renewable Rentier State in Algeria

Abstract

Abstract This article focuses on a major problem: How can the rentier state renew itself? The article focuses on oil-producing countries and their ability to survive during the economic crises they are exposed to due to the collapse of oil prices and the shocks they generate. The oil rentier state has proven its ability to rebuild itself after oil shocks. This study thus analyzes the basic ingredients for the renewal of the rentier state: the rentier economy, the rentier system, and rentier society. Algeria was chosen as a case study during the period under consideration (2000–2022) because it is an oil rentier country that was exposed to both an oil boom and oil shock. The article includes four axes: the definition of the renewable rentier state; the sustainable crises of the rentier state in Algeria; levels of renewal of the rentier state in Algeria; the rentier state between continuity and change after the popular movement in Algeria.