Algeria

A former French colony that won its war of independence in 1962, Algeria is now a multiparty democracy with an elected president as executive head of state.

Algeria suffered through a brutal civil war that began in January 1992 when the Islamic Salvation Front (ISF), the political wing of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), was robbed of an election victory. However, the origins of the civil war were primarily economic, including a rising cost of living and high unemployment rates. The...