Political Economy of Algeria: Extractivism, Rents and Populism

Algeria, the largest country in North Africa, is geopolitically significant due to its strategic location and natural resources. Despite its potential, the country remains entrenched in a rent-based economy, heavily dependent on hydrocarbon exports, a situation that has persisted since its independence in 1962.

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of Algeria’s complex politico-economic system, focusing on its rentier and extractivist nature. The study examines the historical evolution of Algeria’s economy, beginning with the ambitious yet ultimately unsuccessful industrialisation efforts of the 1960s and 1970s. This failure led to the country’s specialization in the extraction and export of hydrocarbons. Subsequent reforms aimed at transitioning to a market economy have failed to break the country’s dependency on oil revenues, instead deepening its rentier and extractivist characteristics. The book critically explores the limitations of applying conventional economic and political science frameworks to analyse the Algerian economy. It argues that these disciplines, developed within the context of Western capitalism, are insufficient to fully capture the unique dynamics of an economy like Algeria’s, where the market plays a marginal role, and state-controlled rents dominate wealth distribution. To address these challenges, the book adopts the concept of extractivism, originally developed in Latin American contexts, to better understand the interplay between political struggles, social movements, and economic practices in Algeria. It posits that Algeria is both a rentier and an extractivist state, with these two aspects reinforcing each other and hindering the development of a productive economy.

The book will be of interest to readers of political economy, Middle East and North African studies and international politics.

Mourad Ouchichi is a professor of political science, born on October 7, 1975, in Ath Laaziz, Bouira, Algeria. He is currently a lecturer at the University of Bejaia, Algeria. Professor Ouchichi pursued academic research in economics with a specialization in development studies and earned a PhD in political science from the Institute of Political Studies in Lyon, France.

With a dual background in economics and political science, his research primarily explores development-related issues through the lens of institutional analysis. His scholarly work focuses particularly on the dynamics of rentier states, with a special emphasis on the North African context. He is also engaged in comparative research on the sociology of state economic practices.

Professor Ouchichi has contributed to numerous collaborative publications in both Algeria and France and has authored many scientific articles.