Within the context of CDDRL’s project on democratic transitions, this paper explores the causes for the failure of Algeria to democratize in the 1990s. Adhering to the project’s common case study framework, the paper outlines the impact of long term structural variables before moving on to an examination of the domestic, then external variables that acted around the moment of potential transition in 1991-1992. In conclusion, the paper highlights the mutual interaction of domestic and external variables in explaining the ‘failed transition’ outcome in the Algeria case.