Local Patronage Elites and Relations to Power : Study in the Cities of Oran and Constantine

Many studies have focused on elites. The various definitions developed over more than a century provide material for different levels of analysis. Beyond disciplinary differences and intellectual traditions, the question of elites occupies an important place in the analysis of societies and in understanding the changes affecting society today. The concept of an elite often refers to the exercise of power by a limited number of individuals, highlighting their influence and position in political, social, and economic spheres.

This research continues the framework of a 2013–2016 institutional project on local elites and political representation in Algeria. We aim to open a new research perspective by emphasizing the relationships between elites and power, in a comparative approach between Oran and Constantine. Power is understood here in Lemieux’s sense as “the capacity to produce the desired effects.”

The social and political changes Algeria has experienced in recent years prompt researchers to examine the role of elites in social, economic, and political life. Whether in social movements or political and social mobilizations related to various events (strikes, specific claims, elections, etc.), elites assert themselves as major actors in negotiations and in the formulation of collective actions. They also act as a source of proposals for decision-makers and as intermediaries with different social categories (workers, students, unemployed, etc.).

Following the classical Weberian framework, the elite under study is associated with four dimensions : class, status, domination, and authority. Elites are analyzed by taking into account their economic influence, social affiliations (including, at times, fraternal connections), and membership in political institutions (local and national). These dimensions will be considered in our research project as analytical elements allowing us to assess the level of influence elites exert in specific domains (economy, politics, religion). We also attempt a typology of elites based on Guy Rocher’s work : traditional, technocratic, charismatic, property-based, ideological, and symbolic elites.

The mediation of local elites regarding events that have marked Algerian social life over the past several years has gained significant importance. This is one of the issues we aim to study.What is a local elite ? How is it constructed ? How does it form ? Do local patronage elites represent the interests of the population ? What are their strategies to influence local life ?How are alliances formed among different elites (traditional, religious, intellectual, patronage-based) ?

Even without holding formal power, to borrow Mills’ expression, this “complex network of overlapping cliques” deserves study to understand the social and political dynamics that have unfolded in recent years. This project also aims to trace the trajectories of influential actors within elites, considering their involvement in local (and national) life and their positions regarding different situations and developments (government decisions, parliamentary actions, union proposals).

When discussing local elites, it is also important to situate their role within the social order. Following Goffman’s understanding -signifying “the consequences of any set of moral norms that regulate how individuals pursue their objectives”[1]- local elites constitute a key analytical element. They help us understand how social and moral norms are navigated and how these norms regulate the interventions of local actors (members of the elites).

From these questions, we pay particular attention to notable strategies of elites aimed at making their positions and influence known through various means: marital alliances, engagement with civil society organizations, use of wealth, etc. The term “notable” refers to “the complex link between social origin, professional activity, territorial connection, often consensual discourse in the name of local interest, and power relations with various levels of administration -rural and urban, municipal and regional” (Fontaine Le Bart, 1994, p.13). Among elites, especially patronage-based elites, notability is a characteristic expression of the moral authority they enjoy.

In our study, we consider the notable as a principal actor in elite actions and interventions. At the local level, they establish themselves as a reference through the capital (often symbolic) they possess. The notable “tends to position themselves as a person of power and influence due to their renown, which relies on a combination of heterogeneous resources valued in a given place and time”[2].

This brings us to the question of inheritance within elites. Political competitions provide a privileged field for examining elite diversity and their involvement in power. Local elections (e.g., 2017) offer a suitable context to test certain hypotheses. From this approach, we investigate the complex relationships among elites (in social, political, economic, and cultural domains) and, by extension, with power (in political representations).

Thus, power -which relies “both on a formal administrative apparatus and on informal, frequent, and quasi-legitimate exceptions”[3]- will also be studied in its interactions with patronage elites.The study of elites and their relationship to territories further informs us about their attachment to social and cultural structures.

[1] Erving Goffman, Behavior in Public Places : Notes on the Social Organization of Gatherings, translated by D. Cefaï, Economica, 2013, p. 10.

[2] Olivier Feneyrol, “Local Power, Power over the Local in Tunisia: Party Agents between the State and Territories”. In Abdelhamid Hénia (ed.), Being Notable in the Maghreb : Dynamics of Notability Configurations, IRMC, 2006.

[3] Jeanne Becquart-Leclercq, “Legitimacy and Local Power,” Revue française de science politique, 1977, 27th year, n° 2.