Breaking the Chains of Dependency: Investigating the Political Economy of Economic Diversification in Algeria

Scholars ever more agree that economic diversification is becoming a vital strategy to ensure future stability in fossil fuel-export dependent states. This is the reason why, in recent years, grandiose development plans and modest efforts to achieve economic diversification have been initiated by some MENA states, particularly by those in the GCC. In Algeria, neither plans nor serious efforts are undertaken by the country’s ruling elites towards achieving this goal. Traditional rentier state literature cannot explain these visible differences in approaches between rentier states. Therefore, by studying contemporary Algerian history, this paper argues that the unwillingness of Algerian elites to diversify the Algerian economy is a result of an interplay between the nature of domestic institutions, international interference and oil. This case-specific approach enables a more accurate explanation for Algeria’s persistent political economic development. Moreover, by connecting rentier...Show moreScholars ever more agree that economic diversification is becoming a vital strategy to ensure future stability in fossil fuel-export dependent states. This is the reason why, in recent years, grandiose development plans and modest efforts to achieve economic diversification have been initiated by some MENA states, particularly by those in the GCC. In Algeria, neither plans nor serious efforts are undertaken by the country’s ruling elites towards achieving this goal. Traditional rentier state literature cannot explain these visible differences in approaches between rentier states. Therefore, by studying contemporary Algerian history, this paper argues that the unwillingness of Algerian elites to diversify the Algerian economy is a result of an interplay between the nature of domestic institutions, international interference and oil. This case-specific approach enables a more accurate explanation for Algeria’s persistent political economic development. Moreover, by connecting rentier state theory with insights from postcolonial studies, and statist and critical political economy, this paper also appeals to the growing demand for an internationalised conception of the rentier state.Show less

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Breaking the Chains of Dependency: Investigating the Political Economy of Economic Diversification in Algeria