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Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 ABORTED TRANSITION: The Case Of The Failure Of The Democratization Process In Algeria, 1989-1992 Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Ibrahim Naji Al-Hadban, B.A., M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 1993 Dissertation Committee: Approved by R. William Liddle Anthony Mughan Alam Payind Advisor Department of Political Science To My Parents To My Wife Ghada and to My Children Dana, Ghofran, and Naji 11 Acknowledgments It was because of the mercy and blessings of Allah almighty God that this work was completed. The support of all my family members was a crucial factor that helped me during my study. I will never forget both the financial and moral help of my brother Yehia Al-Hadban through critical moments. The moral help and support of my mother, my sisters and my in-laws in Kuwait gave me the enthusiasm to finish. On the other hand, the support of my wife’s family also assisted me during my work. To all of them goes my deepest and most sincere appreciation. To the Muslim community in Columbus goes my sincere gratitude and appreciation. I will never forget those loving brothers who offered their support when I was in need of it. To my sisters in Columbus whose prayers were the determining factor that helped me get my degree. I ask Allah almighty God to give them his blessings and mercy. Finally, I would like to thank my advisor Professor William Liddle for his precious guidance, understanding and support. Thanks also go to Professor Alam Payind who was like a big brother to me, and to Professor Tony Mughan. Ill VITA March 3, 1961 .....................Born in Lebanon 1984 B.A. Political Science Kuwait University 1986 M.A. Ohio State University Fields Of Study Major Field : Political Science Minor Field : Political Sociology IV Chapter I Introduction On December 30, 1991, the results of Algeria’s first democratic elections at the national level were declared, and the Islamic Salvation Front, FIS, won a majority in those elections. The results were for the first round of the legislative elections, and the FIS won 47.26% of the votes. In terms of seats the above percentage allowed the FIS to get 81.4% of the total number of seats secured at that round of the elections. However, several days later, on January 11, 1992, President Chadli Benjedid was forced to resign by the leaders of the military, who cancelled the elections and banned the FIS. Leaders of the military first established what was known as the "High Security Council" that was made up of five men, some of whom were military leaders, including Defense Minister Khalid Nezzar. Several days later, another council was formed, this time known as the "High State Council", which also included Colonel Nezzar and other military figures. The state began a wave of arrests against leaders of the FIS, and against thousands of its supporters. This act forced the movement to go underground, and many of its activists formed para-military groups that targeted top government and military figures, as well as military installations. Ever since that time the country has been living under unstable conditions, where explosions and clashes with the security forces are daily incidents. In this dissertation, the author will try to analyze the incidents that took place in Algeria, and try to look for the reasons that caused the failure of the democratization process in that country. The process had a good start in 1989 when President Benjedid installed the first multi-party system in Algeria, since independence. Many parties were established, and several of them contested the municipal and provincial elections that were held in 1990. The author will try to find the reasons behind the abortion of the transition to democracy in Algeria. For that purpose, the author will trace the democratization process from its beginning to its end, and will analyze the factors that led to the its beginning. It will then be necessary to follow things, as they were developing between the regime and opposition parties. Therefore, the author will try to answer some questions, such as: When did the democratization process begin in Algeria? Why did it begin? To what extent did the historical background of Algeria, affect the path of the transition? What was the role played by the leaders of the government, and of the opposition, during the transition? What were the factors that caused the halt of the process? On a broad theoretical level, this dissertation is trying to show that it is due to "proximate" factors rather than to "background" factors that the outcome of the transition to democracy has been determined. The role played by the leadership of the regime, and of the opposition, the mobilization of the people in the streets by the opposition, and a severe political or economic crisis that the country might be witnessing, are all factors of the proximate type. Background factors are important, yet they do not determine the outcome of the process. By background factors the author means legacies of the colonization period, the political culture of the people, the political structure in the country, the relation between state and society, and the existence or absence of political institutions in the country. There are several theoretical approaches that deal with the democratization process. The author will deal with those approaches in Chapter II, but would like to mention the two most important approaches here. The first approach is the one that focuses on the effect of proximate factors on the transition. This approach could be found in the writings of Guillermo O'Donnell, Philippe Schmitter, Alfred Stepan, and Donald Share.‘ These writers focus on factors such as: 1. The role played by the leadership in the transition 2. Popular mobilization and its effect on the transition 3. Democratization due to external factors, such as an external conquest or military defeat. 4. The role played by the hard-liners and soft-liners in the democratization process As for the background approach, it could be found in the writings of Larry Diamond, Juan Linz, and Seymour Martin L i p s e t . 2 As was mentioned earlier, the factors that this approach deals with are: 1. The effect of the historical and colonial legacies on the democratization process. 2. The effect of the political culture 3. The role played by ethnic cleavage 4. The relation between state and society 5. The existence of political institutions in the country 6. Socioeconomic development in the country As was mentioned the author believes that the proximate factors are the crucial factors that have influenced the outcome of the democratization process. In the case of Algeria, the author will precisely focus on the dynamic interaction between the major opposition party, the FIS, and the regime, especially on the process of "demand" and "response". Demands made by the leadership of the Islamic Salvation Front, FIS, and by its supporters, will be studied, as well as the regime's responses to these demands. The plan for this dissertation will go as follows: First, the author will deal with the literature that focuses on the process of democratization, with special attention given to those approaches that are relevant to our case. Second, the author will analyze some background factors, as well as some proximate factors, and will try to integrate the evidence that is available, with the literature. Understanding the factors that caused the failure of the democratization process in Algeria will help us understand similar cases in the Arab and Muslim Worlds. Despite the fact that each case has its special circumstances, yet many similarities do exist between the conditions in Algeria and in other countries in the Muslim World. Being able to pin point the causes of the failure would help us avoid such causes in the future with the other cases.