The 1960s and most of the 1970s in Algeria were characterized by a mood of success and optimism as stated in « The Algerian Charter ». However, this over-all mood altered in the 1980s when the economic crisis triggered a far-reaching social and political change as can be testified by the outstanding October 1988 uprise and the subsequent modifications in the political structure. This book which is written by a multi-disciplinary team of Algerian social scientists brilliantly analyzes the post-independence social transformations in Algeria. The authors investigate the new development orientations, state disengagement, the changeover from industrialization as « prime mover » of development to deindustrialization, a new agricultural reform, a fundamental re-structuration of civil society and its relations with the state - thus marking the end of populism -, so as to portray the deep ongoing changes in Algeria.