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 Periodical article |
 Leiden University catalogue |
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| Title: | Islam and Multiparty Politics in Algeria |
| Author: | Mortimer, Robert |
| Year: | 1991 |
| Periodical: | Middle East Journal |
| Volume: | 45 |
| Issue: | 4 |
| Pages: | 575-593 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic term: | Algeria |
| Subjects: | Islamic movements political parties Front Islamique du Salut Front de Libération Nationale multiparty systems |
| External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/4328350 |
| Abstract: | From Algeria's independence in 1962 until the mid-1980s, a triple alliance of army, State, and a single party controlled Algerian politics. The constitutional revision of February 1989 deprived the National Liberation Front (FLN) of its hegemonic status, opening up a new arena of pluralistic competition for power. When the February 1989 constitution was made public a group of Islamists announced their intention to form the FIS (Islamic Salvation Front). In June 1990, that party swept to victory in the first multiparty elections since Algeria's independence. This article examines events since February 1989 in order to analyse the configuration of army, State, and society that led to the declaration of martial law in June 1991. As of mid-summer 1991, Algerians stood at a crossroads in their exercise in democratization. The verdict of the 1990 local elections was unmistakable in its repudiation of the old system. Democracy can be heady brew, however, and both the FLN and the FIS engaged in practices that overcharged the system as the parliamentary elections approached. On the one hand, the redistricting law (a classic example of gerrymandering) was an affront to the spirit of fairness that democracy requires. On the other hand, the armed violence to which extremist Islamists reverted at the end of June violated the civil peace on which elections must rest. Despite the 1991 political crisis, it appears that Algeria has the capacity to move forward toward a stable system of multiparty politics. Notes, ref. |
