Do political parties matter in bringing about a democratic transition? An analysis of their role after Bouteflika’s resignation in Algeria

President Bouteflika’s resignation in April 2019, in response to large public demonstrations, opened a democratic window of opportunity for regime change in Algeria. Nevertheless, despite widespread disaffection with the regime, opposition parties have been incapable of triggering a democratic trans...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Revista española de ciencia política 2022-03 (58), p.205-236
Main Author: Szmolka, Inmaculada
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algeria
Argelia
authoritarian resilience
Authoritarianism
Case studies
Civil society
Constitutional amendments
constitutional reform
democratic transition
Democratization
elecciones
elections
Parliamentary elections
partidos políticos
Political crises
Political opposition
Political parties
Presidential elections
reforma constitucional
Resignations
resiliencia autoritaria
Social pressure
transición democrática
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Summary:President Bouteflika’s resignation in April 2019, in response to large public demonstrations, opened a democratic window of opportunity for regime change in Algeria. Nevertheless, despite widespread disaffection with the regime, opposition parties have been incapable of triggering a democratic transition in Algeria. The military took control of the situation and imposed its own roadmap to put an end to the political crisis, pushing for presidential elections in December 2019. The elected president, Tebboune, a former prime minister under Bouteflika’s presidency, introduced a constitutional amendment in 2020 and called for parliamentary elections to be held on June 12th, 2021. This article analyzes the political stances and actions by the Algerian political parties regarding these political processes that were intended to be the foundations of the new republic. The case study of the Algerian crisis contributes to the theories on democratization and authoritarian resilience. It does so by showing that, even under favourable conditions of intense social pressure for democratic change and widespread disaffection with the authoritarian regime, political parties cannot be a democratizing agent if: (1) the opposition remains divided; (2) the parties do not build broad opposition alliances, not only between parties but also with civil society; and (3) the political regime retains the support of a number of loyal political parties.
ISSN:1575-6548
2173-9870
DOI:10.21308/recp.58.07