CHAPTER TWO: HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND CURRENT CHALLENGES the country. Social inequalities, poverty and weaknesses (if not failures) of state interventionism and favouritism all led to this model being questioned, both in economic and political terms. This questioning initially remained underground, but soon made itself heard. The economic crisis, latent until that time, came to light with the collapse of oil prices in 1986 and provided the opportunity for political contestation of the development model that was in place. 76. The reduction in state revenue contributed to reducing the government‟s intervention capacities, particularly its ability to assume some of the economic and social development roles it had been playing until then. The discontent among the population who had developed a form of dependency on the state later transformed into anti-government sentiment or sentiment against state structures, and subsequently against institutions and the socialist development model. The crisis of confidence in the country‟s political institutions, which had been brewing for some time, found an outlet. The state, for its part, also realised that it could not continue to perform the same functions as before, given the bankruptcy facing some of the economic sectors that it had been managing, as well as the reduction in its resources. 77. The situation was exploited by other politico-religious forces, and the country experienced the harsh “dark decade” marked by violence and terrorist attacks. The violence of the struggle between the various forces can be explained by the period of questioning of the socialist development model the country had gone through, a situation some had exploited to such an extent that the very existence of the Algerian state and its basic structures was being threatened. Democracy in Algeria was born as a result of tragedy that impacted on the country‟s chances of full democratisation of the socio-economic development process. 78. Algeria had made significant progress in terms of constructing a modern state with solid political and administrative institutions, and had succeeded in passing on significant economic and social dividends from its liberation struggle to its people. It now found itself exposed to problems that it thought had been resolved. 2.4 Current dynamics and challenges 79. The historical journey of independent Algeria can be divided into three major periods that are more or less distinct: the period of socialist development (1962–1987); the period of the socialist development crisis and questioning of the model (1988–1998); the period of open commitment and implementation of necessary reforms through development (1999 to date). 80. After the experience of socialist development and the crisis of the “dark decade”, Algeria is currently undergoing transition towards a market economy, which it intends to pursue at its own comfortable pace and without haste. It is against the background of the terrorist violence experienced by the Algerian 47