Ordoliberalism Beyond Borders: The EU and Algeria's Human Capital

Abstract

This working paper studies the Euro-Algerian relationship through the lens of investment in human capital and looks at how European interventions encourage the transformation of Algerian governmentality. In addition to the various policies implemented since the signing of the Association agreement in 2002, the article also interrogates the agendas of local institutions and actors who support or resist this transformative influence. After an introductory section that presents the concept of human capital and its relevance for the Euro-Algerian context, the following sections show how the Euro-Algerian cooperation draws on technologies of standardization, securitization and responsibilization in order to shape a socially integrated, politically and economically moral subject. This empirical analysis serves to understand the ordoliberal character of this intervention. Indeed, the goal of the European Union is not merely to propose a technical intervention in order to promote a stable environment for the modernization of the economy. Instead, the shaping of Algeria's human resources, with the support of diverse segments of the ruling elite, shows the depth of a restructuring that is also political. The relationship between the nation-state and its population is thus affected, as the former is associated with an anthropological process that must foster both economic efficiency and civic awareness.