Authoritarian Legislatures and Anti-regime Mobilization: Evidence from Algeria

• In Event: Authoritarianism and Contentious Politics in the Middle East

Abstract

Under what conditions do autocratic legislatures affect the frequency of protest during periods of mass mobilization? This study investigates the role of legislative responsiveness in shaping patterns of social protest in Algeria. Drawing on an original dataset of parliamentary queries and protest event data from 2015 to 2021, we analyze the impact of governorate-level responsiveness on variations in protest activity. In doing so, we present findings from our data that offer a snapshot of general trends of protest and parliamentary behavior in Algeria during the half-decade leading up to the Hirak uprising. Our initial findings suggest that increased legislative responsiveness to constituent demands is negatively associated with the frequency of mass mobilization in the same localities, but only under certain conditions. These conditions point to the importance of response to specifically local issues and, more tentatively, the ideological makeup of a district's parliamentary delegation. Our study seeks to provide greater precision in how legislative responsiveness is considered in authoritarian contexts, particularly with respect to how formal institutions may exacerbate or attenuate street-level threats to regimes.

Authors

• Jérémie Langlois, University of Wisconsin, Madison

• Marwa Shalaby, University of Wisconsin-Madison