Algeria’s uprising: Protesters and the military

In April 2019, Algerians ousted President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, becoming the fifth Arab country to topple a president since 2011. Though successfully deposing the head of state, the protests continue today, with citizens taking to the streets to call for systemic regime change. The military begrudgingly endorsed the protesters’ demands to oust Bouteflika, but has since attempted to manage the transition, seemingly to preserve its interests. What are the military’s interests? And what are the demands of the protesters?

On July 17, the Foreign Policy program at Brookings hosted a panel discussion on the results of a survey conducted in Algeria of over 9,000 protesters and military personnel. Brookings visiting fellow and co-author of the paper, Sharan Grewal, presented the findings of the survey. Following his remarks, he was joined by former U.S. Ambassador to Algeria Robert Ford and Alexis Arieff of the Congressional Research Service in a discussion moderated by Brookings Senior Fellow Tamara Cofman Wittes. Following the discussion, the panelists answered questions from the audience.