Bobby Ghosh, Columnist

Algeria’s Revolution Risks Repeating Arab Spring’s Mistake

Escalating protests now need clear leadership to succeed.

March 21, 2019 at 5:00 AM UTC

Corrected

March 21, 2019 at 4:43 PM UTC

Bobby Ghosh is a senior editor in the digital weekend team. Previously, he was a columnist at Bloomberg Opinion, where he wrote mostly about international affairs and culture.

Nice flag, but who’s your leader?
Photographer: Billal Bensalem/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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The Algerian revolution has now entered its most dangerous phase.

Two weeks after street protests persuaded President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to give up his bid for a fifth term in office, the demonstrations have continued to swell, as have their ambitions: the protesters now call for a root-and-branch transformation of their system of government.