To: American Foreign Policy Class
From: Group 4
Date: 3/6/2019
RE: Heavy Pressures Promoting Political Transition, Lead to Resignation of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika
Executive Summary:
Through weeks of heavy protest by the Algerian people, the push to remove President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has taken strides. On April 2nd 2019 the Algerian leader announced his resignation, leaving the country to see its first political transition in twenty years. However, protest continue as the people of Algeria claim this is a small victory in what is meant to come. In the past, the regime held the country together through its effective military, which played a significant role in enforcing law. Currently, this political transition hopes to push for an Algerian future that is run through democratic ruling and peace. With Bouteflika’s recent resignation, the country is eager to see what takes effect within the coming coming months.
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika rise to power:
Before becoming Algerian President in 1999, Abdelaziz Bouteflika was a veteran in the Algerian war of Independence and also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs. During his tenure as foreign minister, Bouteflika was tasked with rebuilding Algeria and its economy as well as ending the civil war that was caused by the nation’s military’s refusal to recognize the election victory of the Islamic Salvation Front. Despite promoting stability, Bouteflika’s government has been accused of corruption and state repression. He has spent his last years in a wheelchair after suffering a stroke in 2013 and is rarely seen in public, causing people to question who had been really in charge of the Algerian government. Despite this, people has praised Bouteflika for providing Nelson Mandela his first military training when Mandela was young and for embracing Che Guevara.
Resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika After Weeks of Massive Street Protests and Government Pressure:
When Bouteflika announced in February that he was running for reelection for a fifth term, even though he has not been seen in public for many years, massive protests began all across the country. Estimates say tens of thousands were involved in the weeks long protests effectively bringing the country to a halt. In early March, seeking to appease the protesters, Bouteflika changed his prime minister, reorganized the government, and announced he would not seek reelection; however, he also delayed the presidential election until further notice thereby allowing himself to remain indefinitely. Protests continued and this week Bouteflika announced he would step down April 28 but, on insistence from his military chiefs, he stepped down effective immediately April 2.
Reactions to Bouteflika’s Resignation
The people of Algeria have, for long, been no strangers to the act of protest and demonstration. Most of the more recent protests have been clearly intended to send a message of dissatisfaction regarding the nation’s leadership and, in particular, President Bouteflika. The Algerian people are consistent in their protests, drastic in their ideals, but nonetheless realistic in their expectations. The resignation of President Bouteflika was simply the beginning of what they hope to be a long and fruitful institutional reform gifting them new leadership. Simply, this will not put an end to protests which have taken place for years in the nation’s urban and metropolitan areas, most notably. The goals of the protests, however, will shift from simply demanding the President to step down, to enacting a true reform of leadership. The Algerian people are happy, but nowhere near content just yet. Quite frankly, their new battles are just getting started.
Implications on Foreign Policy:
With the resignation of President Bouteflika, there are still heavy tensions existing in the country. With need for political reform, the constituents continue to push for a democratic transition that would eliminate the strength of the current regime which uses heavy militaristic pressures to enforce ruling. As for US foreign policy there could create stronger need for assistance in the region. According to the US Embassy, the US has had strong ties to the country in order to help strengthen their economic system and assist in ways to combat the terrorist organizations in the region. Furthermore, as Algeria cooperatively stabilized the region with foreign assistance, their void could possibly grow a threat to more chaos developing as the transition may take time to take full effect. Within the next three months this issue will become increasingly important as the globe will see a transition in authority that was held for twenty years. Moving forward the US may see themselves taking higher levels of assistance, as there will grow stronger threats to the region.
Works Cited:
"Abdelaziz Bouteflika: Algerian Leader Resigns amid Protests." BBC News. April 03, 2019. Accessed April 06, 2019. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-47795108.
U.S. Embassy. "U.S.-Algeria Relations." U.S. Embassy in Algeria. March 23, 2017. Accessed April 06, 2019. https://dz.usembassy.gov/u-s-algeria-relations/.
This memo proved to be very interesting. Algeria's political issues was a topic that I had read about but never fully understood and this memo did a great job of clearing that up. I liked the subtopics that you decided to write about and found it all very informative. What happens in the future will be worth taking notice of. Hopefully Algeria can bring forth a leader that will promote peace, stability, and democracy even though many countries have struggled with finding that recently.
ReplyDeleteThis memo was very informative and covered an interesting topic regarding current political tensions in Algeria and their implications for US foreign policy. I think with one more edit to fix up some grammatical issues, this memo would be great! With the government's transition just underway, I think the group did a good job in recognizing that Algerians' work has just begun in terms of creating democratic and stable reform in their government. I also think the group was correct in that the US should try to help maintain stability as much as it can. Given Algeria's precarious location in Northern Africa and close proximity to Europe, especially Spain and France, the US should keep a close eye to ensure that destabilizing threats, especially those related to terrorism, do not further destabilize the country in its democratic transition, or any of Algeria's neighbors, such as Tunisia and Libya.
ReplyDeleteThis memo is very interesting. It speaks to a larger narrative about the grand consequences of political and social unrest and how they affect a multitude of countries. I had never heard of the unrest and presidential turmoil in Algeria before and this was very enlightening. I am interested to see the role the US plays in the transition for Algeria into a democratic state and how that will change the social and economic opportunities for its people.
ReplyDeleteShannon Sylvester
DeleteOverall, I thought this was a great memo in explaining the situation in Algeria that I had only heard briefly about before. I appreciated the memo using chronological subheadings to show the evolution of the ongoing crisis in Algeria. I agree with the memo in that the US should maintain or increase its presence in the region in order to ensure a stable transition from the Bouteflika regime into the next era of power that hopefully is far better for the country.
ReplyDeleteI thought that this was a good memo, it’s good to see another country, especially a country in Africa, lean towards democracy. Having a country with military leadership transition into a democracy is going to be a long and interesting process but it’s worth it for other aspects of the country (rather than just politics). Having a stricter government, as seen through a dictatorship or military-based government, can lead to a somewhat self-sustaining country if it’s new or too unstable to support democratic leadership. Also, newer countries may view democracy as corrupt and look at the cases that fail more than they would look at the cases that are successful. Specifically in Algeria, no leader, no matter how great, should have five terms. In order for a government to be stable, both/all sides need a chance at leadership (if the people want it) to avoid civil conflict. Bouteflika’s resignation is a step in the right direction, answering to the people’s request. Having a new President will help reform leadership but the people need to have a single voice that will speak for what type of leadership they truly want. Leadership reform is vague and if they want a democracy, someone needs to step forward with the peoples’ support.
ReplyDeleteThis memo was really informative. Elections in new African democracies have a reputation of being slightly corrupt. A president who has the ability to hold office for 15 years is not fair to the citizens of that state. The people need to have their voices heard through this transitional phase in the nation's history. The election should be monitored by some sort of third party (not another nation like the US), but maybe an NGO that works to promote fair and free elections to make sure the people have a genuine say.
ReplyDeleteOverall I thought this was a great and informative memo about a topic that generally has not been emphasized in American foreign policy. Obviously it is unfair for citizens of any country to have the same leader for four consecutive terms, especially if there are no viable alternatives or an unfair election process that suppresses opposition candidates. However, I think the large-scale demonstrations in response to Bouteflika's candidacy announcement shows promise that the Algerian society does in fact want a democratic government that is capable of holding free and fair elections and can peacefully transfer power between leaders. These recent events reaffirm the importance of IGOs/NGOs that promote democracy-building on the ground and reliable democratic allies the Algerian government can look towards to ensure future abuses of power are prevented.
ReplyDeleteThis memo does an excellent job of explaining the scenario that is occurring in Algeria. The headings for each section in the memo are well described and informative. In the implications section, I really agree with the point that the people of Algeria deserve a fair voting system in the nation, and they have a strong desire for it as seen in their protest. The President of Algeria holding the same position for twenty years is extremely unfair to the people of Algeria. The U.S should play a role in helping Algeria obtain stability, as further unrest could lead to more significant issues in the future for the entire region.
ReplyDeleteThe memo was well written and did a great job of explaining the situation occurring in Algeria. The President being in power for twenty years is detrimental to the democratic process in the state. Therefore it is understandable why Algerian citizens protested his intent to run for reelection. While the President has resigned, this is only a small victory for the people. As the memo discussed, this is just the beginning for Algeria. Therefore it is worth taking note of how the country proceeds with their transition of authority. I also agree with the memo's discussion of the U.S. offering assistance to the state because it would be in U.S. interests to have Algeria be stabilized, especially in this region.
ReplyDeleteThis was a good summary of Algeria's presidential election. The Algerian government is corrupt and the rights of Algerians are being violated due to the government. Algerians do not feel that their voices are heard especially with having a president for several years. The United States and United Nations must help Algeria to establish stability and peace. Overall I was able to grasp a better understanding on this issue.
ReplyDelete- Glendy
The first transition in twenty years is definitely the sign of a turning point for the country. I had heard little about Algeria`s protest but from the information presented in the memo I agree that a leader who has not been seen in public for sometime should not be allowed to continue leading. I think your suggestion of the US strengthening it`s ties to Algeria should only occur after Algeria appears stable. Just because the country is in a transition period does not necessarily guarantee this transition will lead to a better outcome. I would be interested to hear what figures may obtain power in this transition. I think the US should exercise patience when developing a stronger relationship.
ReplyDeleteThis memo focuses on an interesting and important topic. I am curious how Algeria's colonial legacies influence their protest efforts now. Are they as a nation possibility more prone to political protest after enduring French colonial rule? I think the memo could be a little bit stronger if you clarified the last section about policy recommendations. It is a little unclear about what exactly you are suggesting that the United States should do in this case. As we have seen throughout history, direct US intervention to force democracy is not the best option, but maybe more subtle means exist to encourage Algeria to embrace democracy.
ReplyDeleteI found this memo very interesting because it discussed a topic I have not heard about. As mentioned in the memo, I believe a country cannot be led by a person who has not been seen in public for years since it shows he is not taking his role seriously. Also, since he has not been seen for years but still ran for president, it feels as though he does not care about Algeria, he only cares about power. One issue with the memo is that the sentences appeared very open ended and many left me wishing there they were more detailed.
ReplyDelete