Vol 58 No 5 | ALGERIA Bouteflika unbowed 3rd March 2017 Could Algeria's power-brokers really be serious about engineering a fifth term for their infirm and wheelchair-bound President? Since winning since a fourth term in April 2014, 79-year-old President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has shown little appetite for giving up the reins of power, at least until a...
Vol 57 No 13 | ALGERIA Political plots in a slow month 24th June 2016 The latest reshuffle promises more effective economic policies but the generals keep a wary eye on the presidential clan Amid the more relaxed atmosphere of the month of Ramadan, political soothsayers in Algiers are swinging from one forecast, such as the revived ruling clique beginning serious economic...
Vol 57 No 2 | ALGERIA Frail constitutions 22nd January 2016 To little fanfare and amid speculation that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's health has worsened again, Algeria finally unveiled its new constitution. It offers a clearer separation of powers, a...
Vol 57 No 1 | ALGERIA Rumblings among the rivals 8th January 2016 The country may be stable and there are hopes of reforming the creaking system but the weak oil price gives the elite little room for manoeuvre With Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal and the presidency's favourite businessman, Ali Haddad, among those talking up an agenda for change, some diplomats and analysts see prospects for accelerated...
Vol 56 No 19 | ALGERIA Trembles at the top 24th September 2015 The removal of the security chief is a major event which could signal the beginning of the end of the Bouteflika years After holding the reins of power since he took over the Département du renseignement et de la sécurité in November 1990, the military intelligence chief, Lieutenant General Mohammed...
Vol 56 No 16 | ALGERIA Attack prompts security reshuffle 29th July 2015 A presumed attempt on President Bouteflika’s life is being put to good use by intriguers in the ruling elite The attack on President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s seaside residence has resulted in the dismissal of security officers judged responsible for compromising the safety of the head of state.
Vol 56 No 15 | ALGERIA Southern discomfort 22nd July 2015 The regime is on the defensive as protests in the south compound a major renewed threat from Islamists Details are scant, but reports suggest that terrorists launched a rocket attack on President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s seaside home at Zeralda, outside Algiers, at dawn on 16 July. No...
Vol 56 No 15 | ALGERIA The franchise war between Al Qaida and Da’ish 22nd July 2015 Shaken by the January 2013 raid on the BP-Statoil-Sonatrach gas plant near In Amenas, which Mokhtar Belmokhtar’s Al Mourabitoun group carried out, security chiefs have mobilised forces to...
Vol 56 No 10 | ALGERIA Road to oblivion 15th May 2015 A spate of trials linked to the East-West Highway, reputedly the world's most expensive road thanks to bribery and contract inflation, sent 16 public officials and intermediaries to...
Vol 56 No 1 | ALGERIA The long goodbye 9th January 2015 There is unease in Algiers where the focus on the President’s health is obscuring long-term political and economic reform Algerians worry about their future in a world where oil, which with natural gas still accounts for over 95% of exports, is trading at below US$55 per barrel....