Civil Society in Algeria: The Political Functions of Associational Life (Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Politics)

253 Pages·2008·1.57 MB·English

by  Andrea Liverani

Civil Society in Algeria
Between 1987 and today Algeria has been engaged in a conflict pitching the army
against Islamist guerilla groups which has killed more than 200,000 people. During
the same period, Algeria also witnessed the explosion of more than 70,000 volun-
tary associations, making it one of the most civic-dense countries in the Arab
world. This book analyses the development of these associations in Algeria and the
state’s attempt to retain political legitimacy.
Starting from a critique of portrayals of Algerian ‘civil society’ as a force con-
ducive to democratisation, the study examines the changing relationship of the
state to voluntary associations in both the colonial and postcolonial eras. An
in-depth assessment of the social bases of the associative sphere then leads to
questioning its independence from the state, and highlights the role of the associa-
tive sector in tempering the fracture between the state and those social groups that
most suffered from the collapse of Algeria’s postcolonial political framework.
Finally, the study analyses donors’ use of advocacy and service-delivery associ-
ations in democracy-promotion programmes, arguing that their focus on the
country’s ‘civil society’ contributed to the state’s efforts to preserve its inter-
national legitimacy.
Based on in-depth examination of existing literature and extensive fieldwork
conducted at a time when Algeria was still closed to foreign researchers because of
the conflict, Andrea Liverani challenges the mainstream views on the political role
of associations in democracy, illustrating how ‘civil society’ can work towards the
conservation of an authoritarian order, rather than simply towards democratic
change. A lucid contribution to an emerging scholarship, Civil Society in Algeria
will appeal to students, academic experts, and NGO/aid practitioners.
Andrea Liverani gained a PhD from the Development Studies Institute of the
London School of Economics. In addition to his work on civil society in the
Middle East and North Africa region, he has published extensively on develop-
ment aid policy and management, and has held positions for various international
organisations including the OECD and the World Bank.
Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Politics
1. Algeria in Transition 5. Democratization in Morocco
Reforms and development prospects The political elite and struggles for
Ahmed Aghrout with Redha M. power in the post-independence state
Bougherira Lise Storm
2. Palestinian Refugee Repatriation 6. Secular and Islamic Politics in
Global perspectives Turkey
Edited by Michael Dumper The making of the Justice and
Development Party
3. The International Politics of the Ümit Cizre
Persian Gulf
A cultural genealogy 7. The United States and Iran
Arshin Adib-Moghaddam Sanctions, wars and the policy of dual
containment
4. Israeli Politics and the First Sasan Fayazmanesh
Palestinian Intifada
Political opportunities, framing 8. Civil Society in Algeria
processes and contentious politics The political functions of
Eitan Y. Alimi associational life
Andrea Liverani
Civil Society in Algeria
The political functions of
associational life
Andrea Liverani
First published 2008
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
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This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2008.
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© 2008 Andrea Liverani
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN 0-203-89408-1 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN10: 0–415–77583–3 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0–203–89408–1 (ebk)
ISBN13: 978–0–415–77583–0 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–203–89408–8 (ebk)
To Alice, for the grey areas and all that ensued

Contents
Foreword xi
Acknowledgements xvii
List of tables and figures xix
Abbreviations xxi
Chronology xxv
1 Civil society in weak states 1
Introduction 1
Algeria’s weak state 2
Civil society in liberalised autocracies 4
The political functions of associational life 10
Researching Algerian associational life 11
2 From repression to instrumental use: associational life
through colonial and postcolonial times 13
Introduction 13
Cafes, nadis, and sport clubs in the demise of colonial
Algeria 14
Independence, incorporation and repression 16
From repression to instrumental use 18
Conclusions 21
3 Outsourcing failure: state insulation and scapegoat politics
in Algeria 23
Introduction 23
Structural disadjustment as insulation failure 24
Insulation revisited 27
Introducing the scapegoats 29
Diverting discontent 31
Preserving factional equilibria 38
viii Contents
From state failure to civic failure 42
Conclusions 44
4 Out of trust? Presidents and families versus Algeria’s
associative decay 47
Introduction 47
Social capital in Algeria 48
Associative decay 50
Out of distrust 55
Surviving decay I: associative presidentialism 56
Surviving decay II: associative familism 62
Conclusions 66
5 Algerian associations from voice to loyalty 69
Introduction 69
Post-independence loyalty, political exit and civic voice 70
The social bases of associational life 73
From state-class to associative class: The rise, fall and exit
of Algeria’s public sector strata 76
The associative sphere as political settlement 81
From state distribution to distributive associations 83
Patrons and clients in associations 88
Conclusions 95
6 Party bypass: associational life and the management of
political pluralism 97
Introduction: Algerian parties and their discontented 97
Hyperpluralism in Algeria 99
Associations and parties: from alliance to distance 102
Associations and the state: from opposition to collusion 109
Managing associative pluralism 116
From electoral committees to civic associations, and
back 123
Conclusions: associational life and the departification of
Algerian politics 129
7 Civic engagement: Algeria’s associative sphere and the
international arena 131
Introduction 131
Threatened civility: associations in the international
limelight 133
Contents ix
In search of civic voices 137
Grassroots legitimacy 140
Democracy promotion between stability and change 146
The anti-politics of civil society support 152
Reaching out to the state 156
Conclusions 161
8 Conclusions 163
Institutional cloaking versus political change 164
Sheltered grassroots, Faustian pacts? 166
Transformational diplomacy 169
Annex: Associations registered at the Maison des
Associations in Bologhine 171
Notes 175
References 197
Index 217