Algeria - from opacity to complexity

In this new book edited by DIIS senior researcher, Rasmus Alenius Boserup and directeur d'études at SciencesPO, Paris, Luis Martinez, six top scholars on contemporary Algeria analyse power and politics under Bouteflika.

The book provide fresh perspectives on a host of intriguing questions about this Arab great power: How does its political system function? Who really governs? Who are behind the protests? How strong are the Islamists? Are there alternatives to dependence on hydrocarbons? And how will the regime securitise its vast and unstable Sahara hinterland?

The book challenges the long established perception of Algeria as a politically and intellectually incomprehensible country under the control of powerful and intransparent intelligence agencies. Without denying the ongoign presence of these features, the book explores how much the country has changed since the 1990s. Algeria today is complex and challenging to comprehend; but it is no longer opaque.

Contributors: Abdennour Benantar, Anouar Boukhars, Rasmus Alenius Boserup, Samia Boucetta, Djallil Lounnes, Luis Martinez and Edward McAllister.