The unrests in Algeria over the past five months originate from two short-term and long-term roots: Among the reasons for the short-term roots of the unrests, one can cite nomination of Abdulaziz Bouteflika to run for the presidency for the fifth time. The announcement of his candidacy sparked a wave of public protests and dissatisfaction so that it can be said that the protest meetings held on Fridays in Algeria began from that very point.

These frustrations were so deep and broad that despite the ruling party’s emphasis that Bouteflika should run in the presidential election campaign, the Algerian authorities finally had to declare his withdrawal from the race and thus prevent escalation of unrests and protests.

However, despite Bouteflika’s elimination from the election campaign, the unrests continued in Algeria, reflecting the second root, namely long-term dissatisfaction in the country.

In fact, the people of Algeria, with their weekly rallies and gatherings, emphasize that the current political structure in Algeria is not capable of responding to the demands of the current generation, and on the other hand, given a series of shortcomings over the past decades it is not  regarded a government rising from among the people.

Given types of causes of unrest in Algeria, some political analysts have seen the unrests in the past few months as part of a popular revolution for the downfall of the current Algerian regime. They consider the frustrations over Mr. Bouteflika’s nomination a spark to start this kind of revolutionary movements.

In the meantime, the connection between army leaders and military commanders and the regional partners has turned Algeria into a place military commanders associated with some regional parties.

The coincidence of the unrests in Algeria and Sudan with the spread of domestic conflicts in Libya has led some analysts to speak of the common roots of these events. These analysts believe that the developments in Sudan, Algeria and Libya are caused by a new wave of changes started from Africa following the defeat of the Arab Spring in the north and northeast Africa.

In the scene of developments in these three countries Arab reaction, particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia maintain strong presence and participation and are trying to bring the political developments in these three countries in line with the policies of the reactionary Arab states of the Persian Gulf.

Of course, against this group of analysts, a number of other experts believe in various causes for the emergence of such events in the three countries; and especially regarding Algeria, they maintain that Bouteflika’s nomination to run in the presidential election was the cause of such unrests. But this group of analysts also point to the open and clandestine interventions of Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the developments in Algeria, as well as the connection between the incumbent leaders of Algeria with the said countries,  attribute continuation of the unrests and the efforts to contain them to the reactionary regimes in the region, just like the first group.

In the meantime, we should note the role of the French government in the developments in Algeria; the French government has launched efforts to influence the course of the events in Algeria on two fronts, and on the same basis it tries to support the Algerian statesmen and manage the process of the unrests in the African country.

The first factor dates back to France’s historical role in North Africa, and in particular the colonial relations of the past two centuries in Algeria. More particularly the remaining effects of French colonialism in Algeria have caused some Algerian intellectuals and a number of policymakers in the North African state to remain under the influence of the French policies. This group of people reacts to the internal events in Algeria in compliance with the policies pursued by Paris in North Africa. Algeria is a center of attention by the European countries due to its possession of the biggest gas resources in the world and has rich oil reserves. Therefore, European countries, especially France are sensitive to developments that reduce Algeria’s economic relations with Europe.

The second factor relates to the French policies in recent years and the status of Paris before the African states. According to the agreements reached between London, Washington, and Paris, the French government, on behalf of the other two, has the highest level of activity in North Africa, and as the implementer of a set of policies of the West is trying to prevent structural changes in Algeria.