Civil Society in Algeria: The Hirak, Non-violence and Youth Activism for Democracy

Key information

Date
Time
5:30 pm to 7:00 pm
Venue
Virtual Event

About this event

On 22 February 2019, Algeria saw the emergence of a peaceful movement for democracy, which brought ordinary people to the streets on an unprecedented scale. Known as the hirak, weekly marches of millions led to President Bouteflika standing down, and to senior politicians and business elites being arrested and tried for corruption. Largely led and inspired by young people, and with roots in civil society developments over the past two decades, this phenomenal mobilisation continued until 2020 and the global covid19 pandemic. How did Algerians take on such a powerful regime, without violence, despite deep frustrations and a history of violent political change? What are the implications for future democratic reform, civil society and citizenship and how do young people imagine the future of a new Algeria?

Recording

About the speaker

Jessica Northey is Assistant Professor at the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations at Coventry University. She is country expert for Algeria with the Bertelsmann Foundation Transformation Index and is the author of Civil Society in Algeria: Activism, Engagement and the Democratic Process (2018).

Jessica is currently the Principle Investigator of the British Academy funded “ Imagining the Future: Engaging young people on environmental challenges to create new and sustainable livelihoods in Algeria .”

Registration

This webinar will take place online via Zoom. After registering, a separate Zoom registration link will be emailed to you closer to the date of the webinar. Online registration

* The webinar will also be live-streamed on our Facebook page for those that are unable to participate via Zoom.

Chair: Dina Matar (SOAS)

Organiser: SOAS Middle East Institute

Contact email: smei@soas.ac.uk