Table of Contents

I. Understanding political democratisation at the beginning of the 21st century
1. Algeria and the ‘third wave’ of democratic transitions
2. Islam and the ‘West’: a clash of ideologies in Algeria
3. New political actors for a new international order
II. Political ideas and practices in historical perspective
1. Genealogies of state power: colonial experiences post colonial dilemmas
2. Historical perspectives on Islamic fundamentalist ideology: a pragmatic account
III. The Algerian political opening: democratic symbols and authoritarian practices (1988-1991)
1. The 1988 October riots: the symbol of a new era
2. The Algerian democratic opening: successes and failures
IV. The 1992 coup d’état and beyond: war as politics through other means (1992-1994)
1. The 1992 coup d’état
2. The military in control: the repressive option
3. The Islamic movement: from political opposition to ‘holy’ war
V. A new authoritarianism: guided democracy versus radical Islam (1995-2000)
1. The re-composition of the political field
2. Electoral marketing: formal representation and informal authoritarianism
3. On the margins of politics: The military and the Islamic guerrillas
VI. A civil society in transition: survivalist strategies and social protest
1. Coping with violence and deprivation: survivalist strategies
2. The articulation of social protest: defying the regime
VII. The international arena: strengths and weaknesses of the New World Order
1. The political economy of the conflict: the role of international actors
2. Algeria as the future of democratisation in the Muslim world
3. Exporting the Jihad: the internationalisation of radical Islamic actors
VIII. Conclusion: learning and unlearning to be democratic
References
Index

About the Author

Frederic Volpi is currently Lecturer in International Politics, Department of Politics, University of Bristol.

Reviews

'There could hardly be a more inflammatory political topic at present ... Volpi [has produced] a really valuable work on the subject'
*Professor John Dunn, Cambridge University*

'Masterfully situates the obstacles to democratisation in the local negative understandings of elite responsibilities and citizen rights'
*James Piscatori, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies*