Can oil-reliant countries democratize? An assessment of the role of civil society in Algeria
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6254537 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Charity Butcher (0000-0003-0905-9538, Kennesaw State University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 722-742 |
| Publication date | 2014-06-07 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Democratization (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1351-0347 • E-ISSN: 1743-890X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13510347.2013.769959 |
| OpenAlex | W1999921138 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 30 |
A cursory look around the world shows that few oil-reliant countries can be categorized as democracies, particularly those in the Middle East. In fact, many studies have suggested that oil wealth hinders democratization. The recent “Arab Spring” and subsequent political instability in oil-producing states such as Algeria, Egypt, Libya and Syria gives rise to questions regarding the prospects for democracy in these types of countries. This article provides an analysis of the possible role that civil society may play in democratization in oil-reliant states by looking at the case of Algeria. I argue that the seemingly meaningless and artificial acts of “liberalization” initiated by the Algerian government in the late 1980s, which initially allowed civic associations to form, have provided an opening for some civic associations to organize and oppose the government. This process of liberalization, regardless of how empty it may have seemed at first, has “opened floodgates” that now cannot be closed. Thus, the recent protests in Algeria, and continued opposition to the government, can be seen as directly facilitated by the government's prior liberalization and opening of the system to civic associations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER
Civil society · Democracy · Democratization · Development economics · Economics · Government (linguistics · Liberalization · Middle East · Opposition (politics · Political economy · Political instability · Political science · Politics · Sociology · International Development and Aid · Law · Natural Resources and Economic Development · Political Conflict and Governance
Studies in the economic history of the Middle East
Democracy in America
Crude Democracy
Does Oil Still Hinder Democracy
Hard Times in the Lands of Plenty
The Paradox of Plenty
Making Democracy Work
Elites, Oil, and Democratization
Determinants of Democracy
Oil and Regional Development
Why Recessions Don't Start Revolutions
Algeria's pseudo-democratic politics
Natural-Resource Wealth and the Survival of Autocracy
Making Democracy Work
World Economic Cycles and Central American Political Instability
Economic Chaos and the Fragility of Democratic Transition in Former Communist Regimes
The limits to democracy posed by oil rentier states
State-sponsored development, oil and democratization
Rentier Wealth, Unruly Law, and the Rise of Opposition
No Representation without Taxation? Rents, Development, and Democracy
Resource Wealth and Political Regimes in Africa
Democratic Transitions
Oil Wealth and Regime Survival in the Developing World, 1960–1999
Modernization
Does Oil Hinder Democracy
Rethinking Civil Society
Economic Crisis and Political Regime Change
Do Natural Resources Fuel Authoritarianism? A Reappraisal of the Resource Curse
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,67 |
| Citation span | 2017 - 2021 (5) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |