The Algerian Muǧāhidīn System: Mythology, Parallel Welfare State, and Power

This article analyzes the institutionalization process of the muǧāhidīn in Algeria and their role as a central socio-political group legitimizing state power from the end of the war of independence to the present day. The methodological approach is historical-institutional, combining analysis of legislative sources, executive decrees, constitutional statutes, ministerial acts, and official documents with secondary literature. The author reconstructs diachronically the legal and administrative evolution of the Ministry of Muǧāhidīn and its affiliated organizations (Organisation Nationale des Moudjahidine (ONM), Organisation Nationale des Enfants des Chouhada (ONEC) and Organisation Nationale des Enfants des Moudjahidine (ONEM)), showing how the official memory of the revolution has been transformed into a selective welfare system and a powerful tool of political legitimation. The study focuses on the instrumental use of history in Algerian governance, highlighting how the “famille révolutionnaire” has become a privileged caste with exclusive rights, capable of influencing state policy and electoral dynamics. The article thus offers a critical reading of the intersection between memory, law, and power in contemporary Algeria.