World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies

Barcelona, July 19th - 24th 2010

· NOT_DEFINED date: MON 19, 2.30-4.30 pm

· NOT_DEFINED institution: Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain)

· NOT_DEFINED organizer: Rafael Bustos

· NOT_DEFINED language: English, Français

· NOT_DEFINED description: Literature on political transitions is now emphasizing the «grey zone» to which many countries are led after following unconclusive and often long processes of change (Carothers). The paradigm of well managed and completed transitions (Linz, Stepan, O’Donnell and Schmitter) is being strongly challenged by evidence as well as theory. Algeria is a good case in point of unconventional transition (both political and economic), for its long and contradictory character. While some authors refer to «protracted transitions», others simply describe it as semi-authoritarian politics or « liberalized authoritarianism » (Kienle, Geisser and Camau), deliberately excluding any teleology of democracy. Semi-authoritarian regimes can always experience waves of political and/or economic (de)liberalization without really democratizing. From the economic analysis viewpoint, transitions virtually disappeared from the literature after the mid 1990s.This panel intends to focus on Algeria's practices of political and economic liberalization since the reconstruction of Constitutional institutions in 1995-6. We are particularly interested in a political economy analysis of reforms, a «catch all» term in nowadays Algerian politics.
The panel will be organised in two sessions. The first one will deal with the economic issues and the second one with the political maters. In both cases, an only discussant for the four papers is envisaged. Fifteen minutes is the suggested time for the presentation of each communication, to allow time for joint discussion, which is the main objective of the meeting.

Chair: Fatiha Talahite (Chercheur au CNRS, Centre d'Économie de Paris Nord, CNRS-Université Paris 13)

Discussant: Rafael Bustos (Universidad Complutense de Madrid)

Paper presenter: Taibi Ghomari (Université de Ma'ascara, Argélie), “Islamic Movement: From the Duality between Religion and Politics”
When observing the Algerian Islamic movement during the last two decades, one is only but stunned by the big transformations in the initial projects of this movement. At the beginning the main concern the return to the traditional form in order to reorganize the Algerian society, but the results was very different. This movement managed to assimilate the very modern system of organizing societies that is the democratic system. This movement is structured into legal parties and participates regularly in democratic elections, and run into coalition with national parties Those political parties whose programs advocated Islam as a solution are now the farouche defender of modernist electoral campaign, centred on political and economical problems with secular proposed solutions, very far from the idealistic project they held at first. The international, geopolitical changes and the evolutions that the Algerian society has gone through summoned the Islamic movement to big concessions, according to the traditional political agenda announced by this movement and after the multipartidism was recognized by the Algerian constitution. The modern state was substituted to the Islamic state, and the call for an Islamic caliphate was reviewed to a lower political support for the nationalistic presidential candidate. In this paper I will discuss the avatars of the Islamic movement in Algeria. By avatars I mean the contradictions
between what was claimed in the first projects of this movement, and the reality of this movement today. Light will be shed on the Islamic movement in the first part of the paper in order to prove its deep attachment to the traditional Islamic heritage. The presenter will then focus on the political practices of this movement leading to the very core of this paper, which is the new secularization of the Islamic movement in Algeria.

Paper presenter: Juan David Sempere (Dpt. Géographie Humaine, Université d’Alicante (Espagne)), “ Les migrations clandestines entre l’Ouest de l’Algérie et le Sud-Ouest de L’Espagne”
On the 1990s most of the few western Algerian who went illegally to Spain cross the Morocco’s border and tried to get to Melilla, where, after a stay, most of them were able to return to the Iberian Peninsula.
The events during the fall of 2005 around Ceuta and Melilla show that Morocco is involved in the European and Spanish migration policy. Since then, the migration route has become much more elusive for the African and Algerian people.
The sea route is easier but also riskier; however is it a growing one. The shortest distance between the west of Algeria and the Almeria’s region, can be sheltered in twelve hours with a zodiac or an about five feet’s boat. Since 2006 this suicide sea voyage has attracted many Algerians, which should constitute a test of the serious non-solved problems that the Algerian youth has been suffering since the very ewe of the 1990s crisis.
This sea way is the last of the routes with direct access to mainland Spain, from the Maghreb. That is why the Government has increased the means, specially, the ones in extended radar system to identify the vessels approaching the coast. Even though, each month, dozens of Algerians keep on trying this chimera.


Paper presenter: Iman Amina Ouenzar (Radio Exterior, Radio Nacional de España, RNE), “Algérie-Espagne: convergence contrariée”
Lecture de l’évolution des relations entre Alger et Madrid depuis le rapprochement né au cours du 2º mandat Aznar jusqu'à l’affirmation de convergence sur la lutte anti-terroriste (4º RAN- Janvier 2010 – Madrid) avec, en toile de fond, l’engagement de non financement indirect des activités terroristes par le truchement du payement de rançons (pénalisation internationale des payements de rançons). Approche multifocal :
-Evolution coopération lutte anti-terroriste
-Evolution échanges économiques
-Politiques régionales (Maghreb, UE, Afrique)