Politics of Algeria - Informal Power

Informal Power

While many sources agree that the real power in Algeria is not held by its constitutional organs, they differ as to who/what does. According to the Economist magazine, the military, are major powerbrokers along with "a select group" of unelected civilians. These “décideurs” are reportedly known to Algerians as “le pouvoir” (“the power”), make major decisions, including who should be president. Adam Nossiter of the New York Times states "Algerian politics is still dominated" by men from the ruling party, the FLN, while Moroccan-Italian journalist Anna Mahjar-Barducci, writing in Haaretz, insists the FLN "is a group of apparatchiks constantly fighting each other when they're not tending to the businesses ... with which they have rewarded themselves from their positions of power". According to her real power is held by "the military's Department of Intelligence and Security (DRS)."

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