North Africa's Constitutions at the 50-year Mark: An Analysis of their Evolution

As the constitutions of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia approach and reach the half-century mark, it is interesting to trace their evolution. The constitutions of all three countries have undergone myriad amendments and revisions over the years which, while creating an impression of active constitutional process, also indicate instability and the shortcomings of governing formulas in the region. This article explores a number of parallels that can be observed in the countries’ constitutional evolutions. It finds however, that to a large extent, the number of reforms is misleading: many changes have been cosmetic, designed not to advance the countries along a constitutionalist path, but rather to tweak their political operating systems so as to adapt them to political developments, and above all, allow for their rulers’ survival. However, while reforms such as the modification to the Algerian constitution on 12 November 2008 allowing the unlimited re-election of the Head of State, hardly represent democratic progress, the fact that a constitutional revision has to be undertaken first should be seen in itself as an advance. This goes to show something that will be made clear during the course of this article: the increasing, long-term importance in recent decades of constitutional law, even in countries without constitutionalism.