STUDY ECONOMY AND FINANCE UPGRADING OR BUYING TIME? Oil Rents, Economic Transformation and Political Survival in Algeria Tin Hinane El Kadi April 2020 By examining the evolution of Algeria’s oil governance and industrial policy since independence, this paper challenges dominant accounts and highlights the critical role of politics in determining economic outcomes. Algeria moved from a dominant coalition, during which significant efforts towards diversification were made, to a weak dominant type of coalition afterwards, carachterised by increased clientelism and a diluted committement to structural transformation. The failure of the state to promote private capital in both periods is rooted in political and ideational constraints that hindered export diversification.