Hydrocarbon- and mineral-rich countries have been often considered resistant to political change. This is an effect, it is said, of the great amount of economic resources that accrue directly to the state. In turn, this can buy citizens off through low taxation, partial redistribution of wealth, and high internal security spending. Nevertheless, a few words have been spent on the other side of the coin. Letting aside their structural vulnerability due to prices’ fluctuation on the global market, rentier states provide many recognizable targets to challengers. The task of this paper is to tackle these theoretical problems in depth through a longitudinal analysis of Algeria. What is the relationship between a regime dependent on hydrocarbon exportation and the violent mobilization of opposing nonstate actors? Why are only some challengers able to recognise this weakness? Through the comparison of two crucial moments in the history of Algeria, empirical insights are presented.
