Between Commitment and Outcome: Good Governance and the Institutional Targets of SDG 16 in Algeria (2015–2026) Entre engagement et résultat: Bonne gouvernance et cibles institutionnelles de l'ODD 16 en Algérie (2015–2026)

Abstract

Since adopting the 2030 Agenda, Algeria has intensified its declared commitment to good governance and to the institutional targets of SDG 16 on anti-corruption, transparent institutions, participation and access to information. Drawing on the literature on quality of government and on the decoupling of formal structure from practice, this article argues that institutional density does not necessarily translate into governance outcomes, and formulates this as a conditional proposition: implementation occurs when a standard is specific, verifiable, costly to ignore and does not constrain incumbents’ power; otherwise compliance remains formal. Combining structured, focused comparison with process tracing across four phases (2015–2026) and a regional benchmark of Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia, it finds that Algeria built a dense architecture for transparency, anti-corruption and digitalisation and remained relatively stable while its neighbours declined, but without improvements beyond the margin of error, alongside declining voice and accountability and weak e-participation. Judicial enforcement and asset recovery since 2019 have been real and sustained, but they run mainly through a specialised criminal court rather than the new oversight bodies. By contrast, Algeria completed its FATF action plan and exited the grey list in June 2026. In governance, complying with form is not the same as producing outcomes, unless the conditions of enforcement are present.