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 270 Madison Ave, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2008. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” © 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