Defeating Autocrats from below: Insights from the 2019 Algerian uprising

Abstract

ABSTRACT By focusing on the 2019 Algerian uprising that led to Bouteflika’s removal, this article explores how broad and mass-based convergences of various social and political opposition actors can produce an existential threat to autocracies. It develops a dynamic understanding that analyses the behaviour of political groups, social classes, and state actors. To do so, it points to the hegemonic contraction of the ruling coalition, the outbreak of a long series of protests in the pre-2019 period, and the gradual emergence of a cross-class and cross-ideological convergence in the course of the uprising. The article not only contributes to debates about authoritarian regimes and mobilizations, but also demonstrates how the scholarship might develop more nuanced accounts by combining insights from the structuralist approach and microfoundational studies. To analyse the uprising in Algeria, it relies on secondary sources and press analysis, taking into account three leading Algerian newspapers and two well-known websites.