Publication

The United States has tried to balance a bilateral relationship that is highly focused on counterterrorism cooperation and Algeria’s oil and gas sector with encouragement of greater political and economic openness. This balance has taken on a new importance in light of ongoing regional unrest and political transformations in neighboring countries, during which Algeria’s political structure has remained largely unchanged to-date. The paper argues that the US government may lack well-developed levers of influence in Algeria because of the limited nature of US bilateral assistance and Algeria’s famous resistance to outside pressure.