Algeria: 50 years of searching for political identity

How far has Algeria come half a century after its independence? A few days ago the people of Algeria celebrated the 50th anniversary of the independence of their state, which became the largest Arab country after Sudan was divided into two. Despite celebrating such a significant event Algeria is still searching for its political identity. Is it really a people's democratic state’ belonging to the modern age? Or it is still tied to the complexes of the past?   Is there anybody in Algeria who is able to learn the lessons from the experiences of the last 50 years, or does it look likely that this important Arab country is set to repeat the same mistakes committed during the post-independence era, which led to a civil war that lasted for 10 years. The war broke out in 1988 mainly because of the shock decline in oil prices, which left the ruling regime incapable of addressing real social problems.  The state lacked the massive oil revenues which served before as a good cover for all the mistakes committed by the two previous presidents, Houari Boumediene and Shazly Ben Jadid. Other Arab countries consider Algeria to have had a good run at politics in recent years.  But in 1988 even Algeria’s most prominent politicians have failed to act effectively when the oil prices declined and the people crowded in the streets in protest at their deteriorating living conditions. It was clear after widespread protests in the autumn of 1988 that Algeria needed to be run by a different regime, instead of repeating the same old mistakes which put the state's future in danger. Algeria is yet to find this regime, though it’s been enjoying relative stability since Abdelaziz Bouteflika was elected as president in 1999. Bouteflika succeeded in granting his people a form of stability - he was able to restore the state's main institutions as well, particularly the military. But there is still a big question mark over whether he will succeed in achieving two certain goals after such a long spell in power. The first goal is achieving reconciliation between the state and the Algerian people themselves. The ties between Algeria and France, which have had an historical turbulent relation, could also be better. Needless to say the French occupation of Algeria committed dreadful crimes in the name of colonisation. But the Algerian side was not completely innocent either - the exaggeration of martyrs' deaths during the revolution has to be mentioned. For whatever reason, the Algerian state keeps avoiding reconciliation with France. The Algerian state is seen as the “French occupation scarecrow" as it tends to use what happened with France to cover-up its own failures to lead the country. And sadly, that is happening at a time when many Algerians aspire to migrate to France, despite the fact that its own homeland is one of the richest in the world in terms of natural resources. Of course France is, in part, responsible for these resources, after it had cut large areas of Moroccan and joined it to Algeria, with the view that Algeria would remain in the possession of France.   The second goal Bouteflika is yet to achieve is to develop the state's institutions in a way that makes a democratic regime viable in Algeria, instead of keeping the state controlled by the military. Admittedly, Algeria's military institution played a prominent role in fighting terrorism in the country during the late 80’s and throughout the 90’s. Algeria's military succeeded in maintaining a republic but it was captivated by the myth of its own regional influence during Bouteflika's era.  The myth was actually a military invented one, which began during Houari Boumediene's presidency. During Bouteflika's era, Algeria has been exploiting the so-called Western Sahara cause, a conflict which is an internal issue for Morocco only. This exploitation was reflected in the cold war Algeria launched against Morocco but this strategy backfired after Algeria started supporting  Mali’s Tuareg tribes in order to use them as one of its regional tools, in the same way Algeria supported the Polisario Front against Morocco. Through its support to the Tuareg, Algeria initially hoped to expand its regional influence. But Algeria became the first target for terrorist threats from Mali and from Tiuareg tribes in particular, who are currently seizing the northern region of the West African state. Algeria failed again to recognise that it is no super power itself, and that its only chance of having regional influence will be through cooperation with its neighbours, Morocco in particular, in the fight against terrorism. Half a century after its independence, the biggest Arab state is yet to heal from Houari Boumediene's syndrome, the man who enabled the military institution to hijack the Algerian revolution from the real revolutionaries. The least that can be said about Algeria is that its leadership consists of a group of teenage boys. They have no idea about the importance of reaching reconciliation with their own people, as well as the importance of being prepared for the post-Bouteflika era through founding a state based on true democratic institutions. The main question now is: Has Algeria grown up after all these years? The Algerians have to answer this question and should bear in mind that their state is about to face serious challenges sooner rather than later. A viable state can not be built while there is a massive population struggling to survive on a lack of resources, except for oil and gas. Oil and gas supplies might be sufficient for less populated countries, but countries like Algeria, which has a population of 35 million, can not take any step forward except a military one - a fact well known by President Bouteflika. The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.