Civil Society in Algeria The Political Functions of Associational Life

1. Civil society in weak states  1.1 Introduction  1.2 Algeria’s weak state  1.3 Civil society in liberalised autocracies  1.4 The political functions of associational life  1.5 Researching Algerian associational life  2. From repression to instrumental use: associational life through colonial and postcolonial times  2.1 Introduction  2.2 Cafes, nadis, and sport clubs in the demise of colonial Algeria  2.3 Independence, incorporation and repression  2.4 From repression to instrumental use  2.5 Conclusions  3. Outsourcing failure: state insulation and scapegoat politics in Algeria  3.1 Introduction  3.2 Structural disadjustment as insulation failure  3.3 Insulation revisited  3.4 Introducing the scapegoats  3.5 Diverting discontent  3.6 Preserving factional equilibria  3.7 From state failure to civic failure 3.8 Conclusions  4. Out of trust? Presidents and families versus Algeria’s associative decay  4.1 Introduction 4.2 Social capital in Algeria  4.3 Associative decay  4.4 Out of distrust  4.5 Surviving decay: associative presidentialism  4.6 Surviving decay II: associative familism  4.7 Conclusions  5. Algerian associations from voice to loyalty  5.1 Introduction  5.2 Post-independence loyalty, political exit and civic voice  5.3 The social bases of associational life  5.4 From state-class to associative class? The rise, fall and exit of Algeria’s public sector strata  5.5 The associative sphere as political settlement  5.6 From state distribution to distributive associations  5.7 Patrons and clients in associations  5.8 Conclusions  6. Party bypass: associational life and the management of political pluralism  6.1 Introduction: Algerian parties and their discontented  6.2 Hyperpluralism in Algeria  6.3 Associations and parties: from alliance to distance?  6.4 Associations and the state: from opposition to collusion  6.5 Managing associative pluralism  6.7 From electoral committees to civic associations, and back  6.8  Conclusions: associational life and the departification of Algerian politics  7. Civic engagement: Algeria’s associative sphere and the international arena  7.1 Introduction  7.2 Threatened civility: associations in the international limelight  7.3 In search of civic voices  7.4 Grassroots legitimacy  7.5 Democracy promotion between stability and change  7.6 The anti-politics of civil society support  7.7 Reaching out to the state  7.8 Conclusions  8. Conclusions  8.1 Institutional cloaking versus political change  8.2 Sheltered grassroots, Faustian pacts?  8.3 Transformational diplomacy  References  Annex A. List of persons interviewed  Annex B. Associations registered at the Maison des Associations in Bologhine.

Biography

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 development aid policy and management, and has held positions for various international organizations including the OECD and the World Bank.