that mitigates apprehension towards others.
(Castells, 2009). Thus, it can be said that the
development of the internet during the Arab
Spring was an innovative fact because it gave
way to mobile computing capable of developing
and improving communication standards, while
creating a significant virtual community.
However, the impact of the popular movement
aimed at achieving greater democratization
varied across different countries. In the case of
Algeria, although the movement had an impact,
the regime took measures to mitigate its effects
by publicly acknowledging the need for reforms,
particularly in its Constitution. The first measure
taken was to lift the State of Emergency that had
been in place since 1992. In addition, President
Buteflika made statements in favor of
normalizing relations with Morocco as part of its
foreign policy. However, these actions were
largely a response to the unstable environment in
North Africa and a desire to project an image of
the Algerian government as willing to listen to
the voices calling for fundamental changes.
Nonetheless, in May 2012, elections were held in
which the former ruling party, the National
Liberation Front (FLN), led by Abdelaziz
Buteflika, won a clear victory with 221 out of 462
seats in the National People's Assembly. The
second party was the National Democratic Rally
(RND), which was also closely aligned with the
government, with 70 seats. On the other hand, the
Islamists, who had presented a joint candidacy
called the "Green Alliance," were the biggest
losers. Consequently, the regime emerged
strengthened despite the reported irregularities
committed during the electoral process by the
opposition, low turnout, and a high number of
blank or null votes. (Torres, 2013).
However, the state of passivity did not endure for
long. Protests against Buteflika began to emerge
in soccer stadiums. In 2018, the chant of a group
of USM Alger team supporters, named "Casa del
Muradia," garnered over a million views on
YouTube. The song played on the name of the
presidential palace, Muradia, and the title of the
Spanish series "La casa de papel," which was
broadcast overseas by Netflix, alluding to the
Algerian civil war, the country's crisis, and
Buteflika's health. Moreover, in the last months
of December 2018, there was a surge in the
detention of journalists, artists, footballers, and
others. As for the president's response, the
presidency had announced that Buteflika would
travel to Geneva for a "routine medical check-
up." Buteflika had not made a public appearance
in a long time. In 2012, he gave a speech, and in
2013, he suffered a stroke, so his public
appearances had been infrequent since then. As a
result, many believed that he would not seek re-
election, but on February 10, 2019, he expressed
his intention to run in a letter addressed to
Algerians. This set off an unrelenting wave of
demonstrations. (Peregil, 2019). After weeks of
protests, Abdelaziz Buteflika renounced his bid
for a fifth term and postponed the presidential
elections, although the protests continued.
Therefore, the president's withdrawal was more
symbolic than anything else (La Vanguardia,
2019).
All of this situation led to the development of a
new form of Arab Spring known as Arab Spring
2.0. It seems that the revolutionary spirit of Arab
youth had not died down, as the protests that
developed were similar. In addition to this, it
should be noted that the economic situation had
not improved much in the years following the
Arab Spring, which somewhat exacerbated the
development of the protests (Shankar IAS
Academy, 2019).
However, the analogy to other revolutions during
the Arab Spring is pertinent. In fact, the crisis in
Algeria is rooted in the history of the Arab
Spring, where social issues were left unresolved,
subsequent political reorganization was
irregular, and voters and institutions were bribed
to accept the extravagance and promises of oil
revenues. Nonetheless, challenges to leadership
also began to emerge in neighboring nations.
Political protests arose in Sudan, while a military
coup was attempted in Libya. In Egypt, a strict
security regime and brutal repression suppressed
dissent, but civil society eventually rose up.
Similarly, various countries exhibited
comparable symptoms of illness and maturity for
change. Their economies showed excessive
dependence on revenues from resource
extraction, high levels of debt, socioeconomic
imbalances and poverty, a weak safety net,
informal labor markets, and low business
competitiveness. In their political spheres, they
tended to have a strong clique of commercial or
military interests directing the country and
selecting weak, elderly, and distant leaders.
Moreover, civic groups throughout the Arab
region were closely monitoring the Algerian
struggle to evaluate their own prospects for
achieving political change. Algeria is the largest
country in the Arab region, and indeed Africa, by
geography, and one of the largest by population.
The outcome of events in Algeria would have
ramifications for the economy and politics of the
region as a whole. (Hlasny, 2019).