Miriam R. Lowi is Professor of Political Science at The College of New Jersey. Her previous publications include Water and Power: the Politics of a Scarce Resource in the Jordan River Basin (Cambridge, 1995) and Environment and Security: Discourses and Practices (2000).

• Preface; Part I. Introduction: 1. Oil shocks and the challenge to states; 2. Natural resources and political instability; Part II. Algeria and its Discontents: 3. From conquest to independence; 4. The elaboration of a system; 5. From boom to bust, and … verging on breakdown; 6. The persistence of violence and the process of re-equilibration; Part III. Comparisons and Conclusions: 7. Variations on a theme: comparators in the Muslim world; 8. Oil wealth and the poverty of politics; Bibliography.

“It is an intellectual tour-de-force that contrasts the variation to economic shocks the author finds in her study of Algeria to that of Iraq, Iran, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia. A highly recommended book for anyone interested in Algeria’s tortuous path since its independence, in the problems of development in general, and in those of hydrocarbon economies in particular. Meticulously researched, and broadly comparative in scope, this book is a welcome addition both to the study of Algeria and to the larger theoretical question that provides its focus.” – Diederik Vandewalle, Middle East Journal

Miriam R. Lowi is Professor of Political Science at The College of New Jersey. Her previous publications include Water and Power: the Politics of a Scarce Resource in the Jordan River Basin (Cambridge, 1995) and Environment and Security: Discourses and Practices (2000).

• Preface; Part I. Introduction: 1. Oil shocks and the challenge to states; 2. Natural resources and political instability; Part II. Algeria and its Discontents: 3. From conquest to independence; 4. The elaboration of a system; 5. From boom to bust, and … verging on breakdown; 6. The persistence of violence and the process of re-equilibration; Part III. Comparisons and Conclusions: 7. Variations on a theme: comparators in the Muslim world; 8. Oil wealth and the poverty of politics; Bibliography.

“It is an intellectual tour-de-force that contrasts the variation to economic shocks the author finds in her study of Algeria to that of Iraq, Iran, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia. A highly recommended book for anyone interested in Algeria’s tortuous path since its independence, in the problems of development in general, and in those of hydrocarbon economies in particular. Meticulously researched, and broadly comparative in scope, this book is a welcome addition both to the study of Algeria and to the larger theoretical question that provides its focus.” – Diederik Vandewalle, Middle East Journal

Miriam R. Lowi is Professor of Political Science at The College of New Jersey. Her previous publications include Water and Power: the Politics of a Scarce Resource in the Jordan River Basin (Cambridge, 1995) and Environment and Security: Discourses and Practices (2000).

• Preface; Part I. Introduction: 1. Oil shocks and the challenge to states; 2. Natural resources and political instability; Part II. Algeria and its Discontents: 3. From conquest to independence; 4. The elaboration of a system; 5. From boom to bust, and … verging on breakdown; 6. The persistence of violence and the process of re-equilibration; Part III. Comparisons and Conclusions: 7. Variations on a theme: comparators in the Muslim world; 8. Oil wealth and the poverty of politics; Bibliography.

“It is an intellectual tour-de-force that contrasts the variation to economic shocks the author finds in her study of Algeria to that of Iraq, Iran, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia. A highly recommended book for anyone interested in Algeria’s tortuous path since its independence, in the problems of development in general, and in those of hydrocarbon economies in particular. Meticulously researched, and broadly comparative in scope, this book is a welcome addition both to the study of Algeria and to the larger theoretical question that provides its focus.” – Diederik Vandewalle, Middle East Journal