Military Repression and Restraint in Algeria

• In Event: Protesters, Soldiers and the State: Re-Examining Military Response to Resistance

Abstract

The Algerian military’s response to the 2019-2020 Hirak protests was relatively peaceful. In
contrast to its violent repression of protests in 1988, and subsequent coup and civil war in the
1990s, the military showed considerable restraint towards the Hirak. Leveraging a survey of
2000 self-reported military personnel, I show that the military’s restraint emanated from
protesters’ use of nonviolence and fraternization, as well as from a recognition that the military’s
more repressive approach in the 1990s was a mistake. At the same time, a priming experiment
suggests that the military’s willingness to repress increases when protesters threaten the
military’s corporate interests, and when Russia, Algeria’s primary patron, reiterates its support
for the regime. Overall, the results show how protester tactics, international reactions, and
political learning can condition the military’s repression or restraint during times of unrest.

Author

• Sharan Grewal, College of William & Mary