Reconfiguring Authoritarianism: Post-Crisis Regime Consolidation in Algeria during the 1990s

Year 2022, Volume: 10 Issue: 2, 266 - 291, 30.09.2022

M. Tahir Kılavuz

https://doi.org/10.14782/marmarasbd.1123399

Abstract

The Algerian regime was contested by a democratization attempt and a civil war in the 1990s. However,
it has succeeded to become a very robust regime since then. Even with the challenges that emerged in
the following decades such as the Arab Spring and the Hirak movement, the Algerian regime found
ways to absorb protests and survive. Following the tumultuous decade of the 1990s, how was it possible for the Algerian elites to acquire such a robust authoritarian regime? How did the regime manage
to escape from the political crisis of the decade with a reconfiguration and how did these changes
affect its dynamics of survival? Answering these questions, this article examines the transformation
of the authoritarian regime in Algeria by carrying out a case analysis and supports its claims with
interviews conducted during fieldwork. According to that, the regime had used a rather limited toolset
for its survival prior to the 1990s. However, while the regime reconfigured some of its old tools, it
introduced several new ones during the 1990s. The regime’s diversified toolset following this period
can be categorized under three groups: The first is the old tools such as natural resources rents, the
second is the reconfigured tools like a strengthened coercive apparatus and a redefined legitimacy, and
the third is the new tools such as starting to use political liberalization effectively and introducing the
multiparty system to control the challenges from the opposition. Thanks to this reconfiguration, the
Algerian regime transformed into a robust and modern electoral authoritarian regime in the 1990s. As
a result, the regime became more successful in responding to challenges in the following decades. With
these, based on the case of Algeria, this article aims at two things: explaining the reconfiguration of the
Algerian regime and making connections with the broader literature on comparative authoritarianism
by examining an important example of how authoritarianism transforms in recent decades.

Keywords

authoritarian survival, electoral authoritarianism, Algeria, political regimes, opposition

Supporting Institution

Kellogg Institute for International Studies, University of Notre Dame

Otoriter Rejimi Yeniden Yapılandırmak: 1990’larda Cezayir’de Kriz Sonrası Rejim Konsolidasyonu

Abstract

Cezayir rejimi 1990’larda bir demokratikleşme çabası ve bir iç savaşla sarsılmıştı. Ancak takip eden
süreçte rejim oldukça dirençli bir hale gelmeyi başardı. Her ne kadar 2000’lerden sonra başta Arap
Baharı ve Hirak isimli toplum hareketleri olsa da Cezayir rejimi protestoları yatıştırmanın ve hayatta
kalmanın yollarını bulabildi. İstikrarsız geçen 1990’ların ardından Cezayir rejim elitleri nasıl oldu da
bu kadar dirençli bir otoriter rejim geliştirebildiler? Rejim 1990’larda içine düştüğü siyasal krizden nasıl
bir dönüşümle çıkmayı başardı ve bu dönüşüm rejimim hayatta kalma dinamiklerini nasıl etkiledi?
Bu sorulara yanıt verirken bu makale Cezayir’de otoriter rejimin dönüşümünü vaka analizi yoluyla
incelemekte ve bulgularını saha araştırması sırasında yapılmış mülakatlarla desteklemektedir. Buna göre
rejim 1990’lar öncesinde hayatta kalmak için kullandığı araçlar daha sınırlı olmuştur. Ancak 1990’larda
rejim bir yandan bazı eski araçlarını yeniden yapılandırırken bazı yeni araçları kullanıma sokarak
hayatta kalma araçlarını çeşitlendirmiştir. Bu çerçevede rejimin 1990’larla beraber hayatta kalmak için
farklı ihtiyaçları daha iyi karşılayabilen araçları üç grupta ele alınabilir. Birincisi doğal kaynak gelirleri
gibi eskiden beri kullanılan araçlar, ikincisi baskı aygıtlarını güçlendirilmesi ve meşruiyetin yeniden
tanımlaması yoluyla yenilenen ve geliştirilen araçlar, üçüncüsü ise siyasal liberalleşmeyi aktif bir şekilde
kullanmaya başlamak ve muhalefetten gelebilecek tehditleri kontrol edebilmek için çok partili seçim
sistemi yerleştirmekle geliştirilen yeni araçlardır. İşte bu yeniden yapılanma sayesinde Cezayir rejimi
1990’larla beraber dirençli ve modern bir seçimli otoriter rejime dönüşmüştür. Bunun sonucu olarak
da rejim 2000’lerle beraber yükselen tehditlere daha başarılı bir şekilde yanıt verebilecek hale gelmiştir.
Cezayir vakası üzerinden ilerleyen bu makale bir yandan ülkedeki rejimin dönüşümünü gösterirken bir
yandan da yakın dönemde dünyanın dört bir yanında otoriter rejimlerin yaşadığı dönüşümlere de bir
örnek sunarak literatürle bağlantılar kurmaktadır.

Keywords

otoriter hayatta kalma, seçimli otoriterlik, Cezayir, siyasal rejimler, muhalefet

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