The History of Democracy in Algeria - Research Paper Example

The History of Democracy in Algeria Introduction Algeria is certainly one of those African nations that are considered very important with respect to the entire continent. The country is situated in the northern part of Africa. It shares its border with Tunisia and Morocco. Over the past century, Algeria has gone through several highs and lows in the context of its democracy. This paper aims to portray a comprehensive picture of the history of democracy in the country. It is consisted of the history regarding the colonial experience of Algeria as well as the history of post-independence period. Furthermore, the paper also includes the analysis of the history of democracy and democratic activities that have taken place in the country over the past 50 years. History of Colonial Experience History says colonization in Algeria began in the 5th century B. C. Native people of Algeria were forced to move back from the coastal areas by the successive waves of Roman, Byzantine, Turkish, Arab and French invaders. Among these Arab invaders have greatly influenced the natives of the country in terms of religion and language. However, Phoenicians were the first to invade the northern Algeria during 12th century B.C. Then the Romans came into the country and united the northern part of it. Under Roman rule Christianity flourished. However, it was ended by the Vandals, though a large section of area was still under the control of Berbers. Arabs started to dominate the area since 7th century. The Berbers tried to resist such dominance but most of them were converted to Muslims. Several Muslim dynasties ruled Algeria till 13th century. Muslim rule in Algeria was ended in 15th century by Christian Spain (Phillip C. Naylor. ALGERIA - Part 3). By 1518, the country was included in the Ottoman Empire. French are the most recent invaders as compared to others. The colonization of French in Algeria started in 1830. They have created the modern borders for Algeria. In 1848 France declared Algeria as an integral part of it. Northern part of the country was made into overseas department of France so that French colonists that included businessmen as well as farmers can be benefitted. There were individuals among these colonists who represented Algeria in the National Assembly of France. The entire country was controlled by the French, though the conventional Muslims who used to stay in the rural areas of Algeria were kept detached from modern European culture and infrastructure. In fact Muslims had hardly any political rights. Algerians were not French citizens rather they were French subjects (Jim House. The colonial and post-colonial dimensions of Algerian migration to France). During World War I many Algerians were brought to the mainland of France for making them work in the French Army and various factories. After the World War I first organized movements began in the country for complete independence under the headship of Messali Hadj. Such movements started to gain momentum after World War II. Muslims were given some political rights in 1947 after a massive nationalist demonstration caused death of almost 88 Frenchmen and thousands of Muslims. In November, 1954 Algerians started their uprising in a way that could not be ignored by the French government. National Liberation Front (FLN) which was the main nationalist party introduced attacks on French people in both France and Algeria. The war resulted in the fall of the government. In 1958 Charles de Gaulle came back in power and in 1962, Algeria’s independence was proclaimed (Phillip C. Naylor. ALGERIA - Part 3). History since Independence In 1963 Ahmed ben Bella took charge as Algeria’s first president. Under Bella’s rule, abandoned colonial holdings were nationalized. He supported various liberation movements in the country. However, within two years his reign came to an end due to problems with Morocco, his dictatorial personality and economic crisis. In 1965 Houari Boumedienne took charge and implemented authoritarian socialist system. During his time Algeria emerged as a revolutionary third world nation. He supported the demand for independent Western Sahara . After his death Chadli Benjedid became the president of the country in 1979. Benjedid was able to hold the position till 1988. He succeeded in maintaining healthy relationships with the other North African nations. However, in 1989 the era of FLN ended because of factors like corruption within FLN, growth of Islamic populism unemployment, increasing oil prices and Berber unrest. In 1990 the country saw the rise of Islamic Salvation Front (FIS). In the same year free elections took place in Algeria for the first time in the history of it. FIS received significant positive response in the local elections. However, several of its leaders were detained as the ‘civilian elites’ and military were afraid of the development of an Islamic nation. In 1995, FIS was banned from the first multiparty elections of Algeria. In the next year, a multiparty constitution was approved by the voters. Islam was selected as the main religion and Arabic was chosen as the official language. During the period of 1992-2000 Algeria experienced heavy civil war which caused the death of over 100,000 Algerians. The war involved army, Muslim extremists and the civilian parliamentary groups. In 1999, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who managed to get the support from army, won the presidential election. In the same year, Islamic Salvation Army which was the armed division of FIS decided to stop armed activities against the government. The new president ordered the release of several Muslim extremists who were jailed on insignificant charges. It was an important step to bring peace in the country. The presidential election of 2004 was first such event that involved several candidates. In 2008, some constitutional amendments were adopted and the presidential term limits were removed. The overall picture of social security in the country improved a lot since Bouteflika took charge, though extremists are still very much active in Algeria (US State Department. Background Note: Algeria). History of Democracy, Democratic Institutions, or Democratic Reform Movements (300) Democracy is something that both the common people of Algeria and the international community have searched for a long time in the country. Algeria was declared independent in 1963, but it took almost 27 years since then to conduct the first free elections. Prior to independence there were hardly any political rights for the common Muslims and after the independence clashes among the army, Muslim extremists and common people have badly affected the processes of bringing democracy in the country. The presidential elections were largely influenced by the army. In fact there were some massacres which happened mainly due to a section of military. In early 1998 when over 1000 of villagers were killed, army did nothing though the place was very close to an army base. However, situation started to change after Bouteflika became president, though a ‘state of emergency’ is still there (since 1992) (BBC NEWS. Anonymous). Due to this, public gatherings are not allowed in Algeria. However, recently, huge number of people has gathered at Algiers as they want better living standards and more freedoms. In fact, they want the end of the ‘Bouteflika rule’. In reply to such demonstrations, president declared that the ‘state of emergency’ will come to end in near future. Role of New Social Networking It is believed that the social networking has played a crucial role in fuelling the anger in the common people of Algeria against the government. In the recent past, massive protest rallies are observed in several Middle East and North African countries where democracy is a paradox. The trend of demanding more freedom and end of autonomy is passed from one nation to another through social networking and Algeria falls among these nations. In fact, some believe that the deadly riots in Algeria and Tunisia are linked with each other and social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook have played crucial role in establishing such link (BBC NEWS. Chloe Arnold). Conclusion Algeria is one of those countries in the world where fight for democracy is still on. Millions of people have already died in the process but the main objective is yet to be achieved. However, people have become more aware about their rights and various social networking activities are actually helping them in this entire process. Common Algerians have already raised their voice against the current government and it is expected to be louder in the coming days. References BBC NEWS. Chloe Arnold. 2011. BBC. July 09, 2011. < http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/world-africa-12159028> BBC NEWS. Anonymous. 2011. BBC. July 09, 2011. < http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12438015> US State Department. Background Note: Algeria. U.S. Department of State. No Date. Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. July 09, 2011. < http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/8005.htm#history> Phillip C. Naylor. ALGERIA - Part 3. Discover France. No Date. Discover France. July 09, 2011. < http://www.discoverfrance.net/Colonies/Algeria3.shtml> Jim House. The colonial and post-colonial dimensions of Algerian migration to France. History in Focus. No date. University of Leeds. July 09, 2011. < http://www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/Migration/articles/house.html> Read More