This text examines the extent to which the 1991-2 crisis in Algeria had its origins in the competing ideologies and policy choices of the Boumediene era (1965-78). In post-independence Algeria, the post-World War II French statist model on the one hand, and, on the other, the Soviet model of the planned economy were juxtaposed on the contradictions stemming from Algeria's colonial and pre-colonial history, the development of nationalist ideas and, finally, the creation of the Front de Liberation Nationale in 1954. These unresolved conflicts overshadowed independence and resulted in the establishment of the Boumediene presidency in 1965. The economic problems inherited from the colonial period absorbed policy-makers in this crucial post-independence period. However, the failure of the economy to deliver on its original promises, and the lack of control of cultural and ideological issues are shown to be the foundation of the conflicts of the 1990s.