EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2. MODERN ALGERIA IN A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION 2.1 From colonisation to independence 2.1 The colonisation of Algeria began in 1830, when French troops forced the Dey of Algiers to capitulate. They soon had to contend with the long and glorious resistance to their occupation from Emir Abdelkader, the founder of the modern Algerian state. Resistance to foreign occupation would end only with the recovery of national independence. The heroic struggle was waged in every part of the country with successive armed revolts. The failure of the peaceful option chosen by the political parties of the day helped convince the Algerian people of the inevitability of armed struggle against colonialism. The National Liberation Front (FLN) was established following these events and, as a result of the need for a war of liberation, began armed insurrection against the colonial power on 1 November 1954. 2.2 For the Algerian people, fighting a liberation war had three major objectives. The first was to regain independence and dignity for the downtrodden and the nation itself. The second was to build a political Algerian nation in the face of the efforts of colonialists to destroy such a notion in the consciousness of the people. Finally, the third aim was to lay claim to development as a legitimate right of Algeria and its people so that they could extricate themselves from the misery to which colonisation had reduced them. This enabled them take over and enjoy their country‟s resources and the dividends of economic and social progress. Modern Algeria is marked by its consciousness of these issues and guards them jealously. Because independence was won after a long struggle, affirmation of the country‟s dignity and political position, as well as the enormity of the development tasks ahead, led to the adoption of a socialist model of development. 2.3 In the immediate post-independence years, and in response to the people‟s deep aspirations during the liberation war, Algeria found itself facing multiple challenges. For a fledgling state just emerging from a long war of liberation, the hurdles to be overcome were enormous. Huge effort went into putting the political institutions in place, creating a public administration that represented a mechanism both for the development of the state and for economic and social development, developing and promoting an economic system and social institutions consistent with the legitimate aspirations and expectations of the people, and, lastly, creating a political and socio-economic dynamic in the country that would ensure its place on the African, Maghrebian and world stage. 2.2 From socialism to liberal reforms 2.4 Algeria‟s political journey since independence falls into three distinct periods: the era of socialist development (1962–1987); the period of crisis of socialist 4