Political Risk:

Critical

Score:

12/100

Defence and Security Policy and Policy Transparency

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Q1 25/100

Is there formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy?

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Formal rights Score: 50 / 100
Theoretically, the Algerian parliament has the right to control the defence policy as laid down in Art. 113 of the constitution, which states that…
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Effectiveness Score: 25 / 100
In practice, Algeria’s parliament rarely questions the executive’s legislative proposals, and so the executive branch remains the most powerful, according to a report of…
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Independent legislature scrutiny Score: 0 / 100
Due to the close relationship between the two dominant political parties (FLN and RND), the president (from 1999 until 2019 Abdelaziz Bouteflika), and the…
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Q2 0/100

Does the country have an identifiable and effective parliamentary defence and security committee (or similar such organisations) to exercise oversight?

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Formal rights Score: 0 / 100
According to the law establishing the organization and functioning of the parliament, there is a National Defence Committee that is responsible for matters relating…
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Expertise Score: NA / 100
Since the National Defence Committee has no formal power to oversee national defence issues (1 and 2, and see the answer to question 2A),…
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Responsive policymaking Score: NA / 100
Since the National Defence Committee has no formal power to oversee national defence issues (1 and 2, and see the answer to question 2A),…
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Short-term oversight Score: NA / 100
Since the National Defence Committee has no formal power to oversee national defence issues (1), (2), see the answer to question 2A, the question…
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Long-term oversight Score: NA / 100
Since the National Defence Committee has no formal power to oversee national defence issues (1), 2, and see the answer to question 2A), the…
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Institutional outcomes Score: NA / 100
Since the National Defence Committee has no formal power to oversee national defence issues (1), (2), and see the answer to question 2A), the…
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Q3 8/100

Is the country’s national defence policy or national security strategy debated and publicly available?

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Scope of involvement Score: 0 / 100
There are former individuals of the Algerian government, the Deputy Defence Minister and the former Foreign Minister, who have issued statements about security matters.…
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Scope of debate Score: NA / 100
As there is no public debate on defence policy, this indicator has been marked Not Applicable. Statements from the Algerian government on defence and…
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Public consultations Score: 0 / 100
No evidence could be found that there is a formal consultation process involving the public. For example, the Open Budget Service scores Algeria 0…
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Transparency Score: 25 / 100
No formal or genuine document on Algeria’s defence policy or national security strategy could be found during the research. The website of the defence…
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Q4 8/100

Do defence and security institutions have a policy, or evidence, of openness towards civil society organisations (CSOs) when dealing with issues of corruption?

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Policy of openness Score: 0 / 100
No evidence could be found that there is a formal or informal policy that requires openness towards civil society organization in the defence sector.…
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CSO protections Score: 0 / 100
The space for civil society organizations in Algeria is limited. The freedom of non-governmental organizations is scored 1 out of 4 by Freedom House.…
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Practice of openness Score: 25 / 100
There is evidence that civil society actors requested to work with state authorities in regards to anti-corruption in general but not the defence sector…
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Q5 75/100

Has the country signed up to the following international anti-corruption instruments: UNCAC and the OECD Convention?

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Signatory and Ratification status Score: 100 / 100
According to SIPRI’s Arms Transfers Database, Algeria has not been a significant defence exporter between 2015 and 2017. Algeria signed the UNCAS on December…
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Compliance Score: 50 / 100
A UNCAC report of 2016 outlines (1) what Algeria had done to address recommendations of the first review report, which was done in 2014…
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Q6 25/100

Is there evidence of regular, active public debate on issues of defence? If yes, does the government participate in this debate?

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Public debate Score: 25 / 100
Outside the government, there is an occasional and superficial public debate in the media about defence issues. Freedom of expression with regards to national…
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Government engagement in public discourse Score: 25 / 100
There is evidence that the Algerian government engages in public discourse, but only one way. Journalists report that security officers approach journalists, but it…
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Q7 25/100

Does the country have an openly stated and effectively implemented anti-corruption policy for the defence sector?

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Anti-corruption policy Score: 50 / 100
Algeria has an official anti-corruption policy, but it is unclear whether it applies to the defence sector. There is also no evidence that the…
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Effective implementation Score: 0 / 100
It is unclear whether Algeria’s anti-corruption policy applies to the defence sector, and no action plan could be found on the Ministry of Defence…
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Q8 0/100

Are there independent, well-resourced, and effective institutions within defence and security tasked with building integrity and countering corruption?

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Mandate and resources Score: 0 / 100
No information could be found on whether there is a unit within the defence and security sector that is missioned to fight corruption and…
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Independence Score: NA / 100
Since no institution is explicitly mandated to counter corruption in the defence sector, no assessment on independence can be made and the indicator is…
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Effectiveness Score: NA / 100
Since no institution is explicitly mandated to counter corruption in the defence sector, no assessment on independence can be made and the indicator is…
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Q9 NA/100

Does the public trust the institutions of defence and security to tackle the issue of bribery and corruption in their establishments?

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Q10 0/100

Are there regular assessments of the areas of greatest corruption risk for ministry and armed forces personnel, and are the findings used as inputs to the anti-corruption policy?

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Risk assessments Score: 0 / 100
There is no evidence that a defence-specific assessment of corruption has been commissioned since the last assessment of the country, which came to the…
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Regularity Score: NA / 100
No assessment on the regularity is therefore possible and the answer is scored “Not Applicable.” There is no evidence that a defence-specific assessment of…
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Inputs to anti-corruption policy Score: NA / 100
No assessement on inputs to anti-corruption policy is therefore possible and the answer is scored “Not Applicable.” There is no evidence that a defence-specific…
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Defence Budgets

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Q11 0/100

Does the country have a process for acquisition planning that involves clear oversight, and is it publicly available?

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Acquisition planning process Score: 0 / 100
No information on a defined process for acquisition planning was found during the research. There is no clear defence strategy published, for example, on…
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Transparency Score: NA / 100
Since there is no defined process for acquistion planning, this sub-indicator has been marked Not Applicable. No information on the acquisition planning process could…
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External oversight Score: NA / 100
Since there is no defined process for acquistion planning, this sub-indicator has been marked Not Applicable. No information on external oversight of the acquisition…
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Q12 25/100

Is the defence budget transparent, showing key items of expenditure? And it is provided to the legislature in a timely fashion?

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Comprehensiveness Score: 25 / 100
The finance laws only list the topline figures for the defence budget, it is not broken down into functions or areas (1), (2), (3).…
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Timeliness Score: 25 / 100
Based on publicly available information, the Algerian parliament receives a proposal on the general budget about three months before the beginning of the budget…
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Q13 0/100

Is there a legislative committee (or other appropriate body) responsible for defence budget scrutiny and analysis in an effective way?

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Formal rights Score: 0 / 100
No information could be found on whether the defence commission has the formal right to scrutinize the decision-making process on the defence budget. According…
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Influence on decision-making Score: NA / 100
In light of the fact that no information could be found on whether the Defence Commission has the formal right to influence the decision-making…
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Q14 8/100

Is the approved defence budget made publicly available? In practice, can citizens, civil society, and the media obtain detailed information on the defence budget?

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Proactive publication Score: 25 / 100
The government proactively publishes the finance law including an aggregated figure for the defence budget at the beginning of a fiscal year (1), (2),…
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Comprehensiveness Score: 0 / 100
No information could be found during the research on how the defence budget breaks down. The finance laws do not provide any information on…
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Response to information requests Score: 0 / 100
Given the scare information on the defence budget as outlined in 14A and 14B, it seems very difficult, if not impossible, to obtain any…
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Q15 0/100

Are sources of defence income other than from central government allocation (from equipment sales or property disposal, for example) published and scrutinised?

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Transparency Score: 0 / 100
No publication on other defence income was found during the research, for example, on the Ministry of Defence website (1). Newspaper reports are claiming…
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Institutional scrutiny Score: 0 / 100
There is no specific information on institutional scrutiny of defence income that is not from the central government. The military operates in a very…
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Public scrutiny Score: 0 / 100
Public scrutiny of defence income other than from central government seems to be minimal. Media reports on the military’s economic activities do not provide…
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Q16 0/100

Is there an effective internal audit process for defence ministry expenditure (that is, for example, transparent, conducted by appropriately skilled individuals, and subject to parliamentary oversight)?

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Activity Score: 0 / 100
No information could be found on whether the Defence Ministry audits its expenditures internally, which was also the result of the country’s last assessment…
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Enabling oversight Score: NA / 100
This sub-indicator has been marked Not Applicable because no information could be found on whether the defence ministry audits its expenditures internally, i.e., on…
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External scrutiny Score: NA / 100
This sub-indicator has been marked Not Applicable because no information could be found on whether the defence ministry audits its expenditures internally, i.e., on…
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Institutional outcomes Score: NA / 100
This sub-indicator has been marked Not Applicable because no information could be found on whether the defence ministry audits its expenditures internally, i.e., on…
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Q17 0/100

Is there effective and transparent external auditing of military defence expenditure?

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Activity Score: 0 / 100
There is evidence that there is little external auditing of military defence expenditures, although the audit unit has a formal mandate to review all…
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Independence Score: 0 / 100
Although the Court of Auditors is formally independent according to the Algerian constitution (Art. 196), (1), its independence is limited. Law No. 80-05/1980 puts…
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Transparency Score: 0 / 100
The annual reports of the Court of Auditors for the years 2015-2018 could not be found online (1). Only the annual reports of 1995…
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Institutional outcomes Score: 0 / 100
There are strong indications that the Ministry of Defence fails to address the audit findings. According to media reports on the annual report, the…
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Nexus of Defence and National Assets

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Q18 10/100

Is there evidence that the country’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation and, if so, are these interests publicly stated and subject to scrutiny?

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Legal framework Score: 50 / 100
There is evidence that individuals of the armed forces are prohibited from having control over or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s…
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Defence institutions: Financial or controlling interests in practice Score: 0 / 100
Defence institutions are likely to have financial and controlling interests in businesses associated with Algeria’s natural resources and considering the answer to question 18A,…
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Individual defence personnel: Financial or controlling interests in practice Score: 0 / 100
As has been outlined in the country’s last assessment (4) and in the answers to question 18A and 18B, financial and controlling interests of…
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Transparency Score: 0 / 100
No evidence could be found that interests of the defence institution and individuals are publicly declared and transparent. Information found on the economic activities…
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Scrutiny Score: 0 / 100
No evidence could be found that either parliament (1) (2) or the Court of Auditors (3) scrutinize these interests.
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Organised Crime

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Q19 25/100

Is there evidence, for example through media investigations or prosecution reports, of a penetration of organised crime into the defence and security sector? If no, is there evidence that the government is alert and prepared for this risk?

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Penetration of organised crime Score: 50 / 100
Generally, it is very difficult to find information on the penetration of organised crime in the military and the security sector. See also the…
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Government response Score: 0 / 100
No information could be found that the government has publicly spoken about the possibility that organized crime has penetrated the defence sector. Deputy Minister…
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Q20 33/100

Is there policing to investigate corruption and organised crime within the defence services and is there evidence of the effectiveness of this policing?

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Existence of policing function Score: 50 / 100
There is some evidence that there is policing to investigate corruption and organized crimes within the defence services. According to the Military Code of…
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Independence Score: 25 / 100
According to Art. 44 of the Military Panel Code, the Military Judiciary Police falls under the authority of the Minister of Defence, which does…
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Effectiveness Score: 25 / 100
It is difficult to find information that allows for the assessment of the effectiveness of the legal provisions. There is a case of five…
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Control of Intelligence Services

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Q21 0/100

Are the policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services subject to effective and independent oversight?

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Independence Score: 0 / 100
There is no independent body, which oversees the policies, administration, and budget of the intelligence services. Since there is very little information about the…
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Effectiveness Score: NA / 100
The sub-indicator has been marked Not Applicable because there is no independent body, which oversees the policies, administration, and budget of the intelligence services…
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Q22 0/100

Are senior positions within the intelligence services filled on the basis of objective selection criteria, and are appointees subject to investigation of their suitability and prior conduct?

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Objective selection criteria Score: 0 / 100
Because the Direction of Security Services (DSS) was established by an unpublished presidential decree in 2016 (1), it is not possible to know whether…
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Selection bias Score: 0 / 100
From what is known about the intelligence services, senior positions seem to be chosen based on political loyalty. The patronage method of the Algerian…
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Vetting process Score: 0 / 100
Given the secrecy of the intelligence services in Algeria (1), there is no information available of whether there is an internal vetting process. According…
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Export Controls

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Q23 0/100

Does the government have a well-scrutinised process for arms export decisions that aligns with Articles 7.1.iv, 11.5, and 15.6 of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)?

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Signatory and Ratification Score: 0 / 100
Algeria has not signed the ATT (1). According to the SIRPI Arms Transfers database, Algeria has not significantly exported arms (2).
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Compliance Score: NA / 100
This sub-indicator has been marked Not Applicable because Algeria has not signed the ATT (1). According to the SIRPI Arms Transfers database, Algeria has…
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Parliamentary scrutiny Score: NA / 100
This sub-indicator has been scored ‘Not Applicable’ as SIPRI has not recorded any arms exports from Algeria since 2015.
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Lobbying in Defence

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Q76 0/100

Does the country regulate lobbying of defence institutions?

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Legal framework Score: 0 / 100
No evidence could be found that law regulates the lobbying of defence institutions in Algeria. Research also did not find any general laws on…
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Disclosure: Public officials Score: NA / 100
This sub-indicator has been marked Not Applicable because no evidence could be found that law regulates lobbying of defence institutions in Algeria, for example,…
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Lobbyist registration system Score: NA / 100
This sub-indicator has been marked Not Applicable because no evidence could be found that law regulates lobbying of defence institutions in Algeria, for example,…
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Oversight & enforcement Score: NA / 100
This sub-indicator has been marked Not Applicable because no evidence could be found that law regulates lobbying of defence institutions in Algeria, for example,…
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