Lily
2. Social Structure–What racial, ethnic, class structures are present?
Lindsey
3. Politics- what type of government runs this country?
Zack
4. Religion/Ideology-what type of religious activity is present?
Lindsey
5. Economics-what types of economic activity, natural resources (oil, etc.) are present?
Zack
6. Technology-Is this an “advanced” country technologically?
Lily
7. Popular Culture: Any special food? Sports? Pop stars? Sites?
Lily
8. 21st Century Challenges and Opportunities – Describe any.
Zack
9. “Arab Spring” focused questions:
A. Immediate precipitating causes of the “Arab Spring” – when, how and why?
Lindsey
B. Long-term causes of the “Arab Spring” – why did it happen in your country, based on deeper historical and cultural issues?
C. Key players – who are THREE individuals and organizations that have served as key players in the “Arab Spring”?
Lily
D.Possible futures for your “Arab Spring” country – play out at least THREE different future scenarios – what might happen?
Zack
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Flag_of_Algeria.svg
ReplyDeletehttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Seal_of_Algeria.svg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=answbJWKjcE
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8nkF_oXCXk
ReplyDeletePolitics
ReplyDeleteAlgeria is an authoritarian regime, according to the Democracy Index 2010. The Freedom of the Press 2009 report gives it rating "Not Free".
Politics of Algeria takes place in a framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of Algeria is head of state while the Prime Minister of Algeria is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the People's National Assembly and the Council of the Nation. Algeria has a long history of revolution and regime change, making the political climate dynamic and often in a state of change. The country is currently a constitutional republic with a democratically elected government, though the military, in practice, remain major powerbrokers. Since the early 1990s, a shift from socialism to a free market economy has been ongoing with official support.
Abdelaziz Bouteflika won the presidency in 1999 polls, promising to end the violence that exploded after the cancellation of the 1992 parliamentary election which an Islamic party was set to win.
Economy
Economy: Algeria is a key oil and gas supplier.
Algeria is classified as an upper middle income country by the World Bank.[74] The economy remains dominated by the state, a legacy of the country's socialist post-independence development model. In recent years, the Algerian government has halted the privatization of state-owned industries and imposed restrictions on imports and foreign involvement in its economy.[4]
Algeria has struggled to develop industries outside of hydrocarbons in part because of high costs and an inert state bureaucracy. The government's efforts to diversify the economy by attracting foreign and domestic investment outside the energy sector have done little to reduce high youth unemployment rates or to address housing shortages.[4] The country is facing a number of short-term and medium-term problems, including the need to diversify the economy, strengthen political, economic and financial reforms, improve the business climate and reduce inequalities amongst regions.[59]
A wave of economic protests in February and March 2011 prompted the Algerian government to offer more than $23 billion in public grants and retroactive salary and benefit increases. Public spending has increased by 27% annually during the past 5 years. The 2010–14 public-investment programme will cost US$286 billion, 40% of which will go to human development.[59]
Thanks to strong hydrocarbon revenues, Algeria has a cushion of $173 billion in foreign currency reserves and a large hydrocarbon stabilization fund. In addition, Algeria's external debt is extremely low at about 2% of GDP.[4] The economy remains very dependent on hydrocarbon wealth, and, despite high foreign exchange reserves (US$178 billion, equivalent to three years of imports), current expenditure growth makes Algeria's budget more vulnerable to the risk of prolonged lower hydrocarbon revenues.[77]
Algeria is one of Africa’s oldest oil producers. It is the continent’s largest exporter of natural gas to Europe and the third largest exporter of oil.
21st century problems
ReplyDeletePopulation growth and associated problems—unemployment and underemployment, inability of social services to keep pace with rapid urban migration, inadequate industrial management and productivity, a decaying infrastructure—continue to plague Algerian society. Increases in the production and prices of oil and gas over the past decade have led to a budgetary surplus of close to $20 billion. The government began an economic reform program in 1993 which focuses on macroeconomic stability and structural reform. These reforms are aimed at liberalizing the economy, making Algeria competitive in the global market, and meeting the needs of the Algerian people.
With the advent of spot-market LNG, European gas producers shuttering their doors in their turn to cheap coal, a push for de-coupling natural gas and oil prices, continued low economic growth in Europe - Algeria’s most important export market, and as will be discussed, a heretofore inability to tap into its own unconventional natural gas and renewable energy resources, the country has some tough decisions to make.
While financially stable and benefiting from a robust security apparatus, rising unemployment and housing shortages have led to protests against the “pouvoir,” an opaque politico-military elite network that dominates decisionmaking. Meanwhile, the growing capacity of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), comprised of former militants from the 1990s Algerian civil war, poses a threat to stability in Algeria and neighboring states. The government must fulfill recent political reforms to stave off further internal turmoil and overcome its resistance to working collaboratively with regional and international partners if it is to tackle its terrorist threats. - See more at: http://africacenter.org/2013/01/algeria-current-issues/#sthash.kHxnDiXn.dpuf
Name:
ReplyDelete-The name Algeria is derived from the name of the country's oldest continuous settlement and modern capital, Algiers, a strategically located port city with access to both Europe and the Middle East. Most of the population of the country is in the north.
Geography:
-Algeria is in northern Africa. It covers a total of 919,595 square miles (2,381,751 square kilometers), making it the second largest country in Africa (after Sudan), and the eleventh largest in the world
-Almost nine-tenths of this area is composed of the six Saharan provinces in the south of the country; however, 90 percent of the population, and most of the cities, are located along the fertile coastal area known as the Tell, or hill
-The climate is desert like, although the coast does receive rain in the winter. Only 3 percent of the land is arable, this along the Mediterranean. Inland from the coast is the High Plateau region, which is mostly rocky and dry, dotted with vegetation on which cattle, sheep, and goats graze. Beyond the plateau are the Saharan Atlas Mountains, which form the boundary of the Algerian Sahara desert
-There is even a mountain, Mount Tahat, the highest point in Algeria, that is sometimes snow-topped.
Demographics:
-The estimated population as of 2000 is 31,193,917. Ethnically it is fairly homogeneous, about 80 percent Arab and 20 percent Berber. Less than 1 percent are European
-The original language of Algeria was Berber, which has varied dialects throughout the country. Arabic and Berber are the languages most spoken in day-to-day life. French is being phased out, but it remains an important language in business and some scientific and technical fields
Flag:
-The flag is green and white, with a red star and crescent. The star, crescent, and the color green are all symbolic of the Islamic religion.
image of flag
ReplyDeletehttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Flag_of_Algeria.png
ReplyDelete-The largest city is the capital, Algiers, in the north, on the Mediterranean coast. It is the oldest city in the country, dating back almost three thousand years, to Phoenician times
-The city contains a mix of modern high-rises and traditional Turkish and Islamic architecture. The port at Algiers is the largest in the country and is an industrial center.
-Other urban centers include Constantine and Annaba. All of Algeria's cities have been hard hit by overpopulation, and its attendant problems of housing shortages and unemployment.
Technology:
- Algeria has made major technological advances, especially in the steel and petrochemical industries. However, Algeria still has a severe shortage of skilled workers and is heavily dependent on foreign technologies.
-There is the University of Science and Technology at Oran, as well as the Houari Boumedienne University of Science and Technology. There are the Ministry of Energy and Petrochemicals and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fishing, both of which sponsor educational institutes.
-Medical care is free and nationalized. The government concentrates its efforts on preventive medicine and vaccinations, building local clinics and health centers rather than large centralized hospitals
Culture:
ReplyDelete-The musical genre of Algeria that is best known abroad is Rai. Rai is a pop-flavored, opinionated take on folk music, featuring stars such as Khaled and Cheb Mami. Chaabi style music also remains very popular with stars such as El Hadj El Anka and Dahmane El Harrachi making their mark on the local music scene. For those with a more classical taste in music, Andalusi music, brought from Al-Andalus by Morisco refugees, is preserved in many older coastal towns.
-Algeria has a thriving handicrafts industry. Part of the charm of the country is the richness of its production. From carpets to ceramics, from leather to lute making, from pottery to glass working to silverwork, the country has a tremendous variety of skills that produce goods which are sold in many other countries as well as to visiting tourists.
-Traditional arts and crafts, such as rug-making, pottery, embroidery and jewellery-making, are practised across Algeria, though certain regions are known for particular items, such as the carpets of Ghardaia and the silver jewellery and swords of the Berber and Tuareg regions.
more geography shit:
ReplyDelete-Algeria comprises 2,381,741 square kilometers of land, more than four-fifths of which is desert, in northern Africa, between Morocco and Tunisia. It is the largest country in Africa. Its Arabic name, Al Jazair (the islands), derives from the name of the capital Algiers (Al Jazair in Arabic), after the small islands formerly found in its harbor. It has a long Mediterranean coastline
pop culture:
ReplyDelete- http://www.jstor.org/stable/40034339
made a thing for our presentation
ReplyDeletehttp://prezi.com/chozhmxz8r5t/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14118852
ReplyDeletePRESENTATION LINK
ReplyDeletehttp://prezi.com/chozhmxz8r5t/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy