Social Change, Generations and Values in Algeria: A Socio-Anthropological Study in the Oran Region

Generational approaches emphasise the importance of studying age groups due to the shared characteristics that shape their orientations and beliefs. From this perspective, no society can be conceived without cultural diversity and a plurality of practices adapted to the specificities of a given generation. Substantial differences may emerge in worldviews and social relations, structured around systems of values, norms, and beliefs.

Classical sociologists such as Durkheim, Comte, and Weber highlighted the central role of values in ensuring social cohesion. Values were regarded as a foundation of social control and a basis for evaluating individuals and their interactions. Contemporary studies further underline the issue of value conflict, demonstrating the persistence of what is termed the “problem of values”. Such conflict can only be fully understood within the framework of the concept of generation, since each generation possesses a distinct historical trajectory.

While demographically a generation may simply denote individuals born in the same year, the present approach draws on theoretical literature that conceptualises generations as carriers of shared cultural traits indicative of social change across historical periods.

Karl Mannheim and Ortega y Gasset are among the most influential twentieth-century theorists of generations. They argue that generations emerge from shared experiences of major historical events and rapid social transformations. Members of a generation share fundamental orientations, though not necessarily identical opinions. A generation is thus a cohort born within a similar time frame, conscious of its distinctiveness, possessing a sense of collective identity, and potentially engaged in social and political change. Unlike a mere age group (a category “in itself”), a generation constitutes a social category “for itself”, endowed with collective awareness.

Recent sociological interest in values — particularly through the work of Attias-Donfut on intergenerational relations — has increasingly adopted a sociodemographic perspective due to demographic transitions in modern societies. Improvements in health and living conditions have led to the coexistence of multiple generations within the same historical period, thereby intensifying value differentiation.

The Algerian case is examined primarily through the framework of the World Values Survey. The study also builds upon previous research, including the Youth Project and the doctoral work of Azzi Farid. It aims to conduct a large-scale survey to analyse processes of value transformation and intergenerational conflict in Algerian society.

Since the mid-twentieth century, Algeria has undergone profound transformations: the War of Independence, nation-building, the October 1988 events, political and economic liberalisation, and the violence of the 1990s. Each decade has been marked by events that significantly reshaped the country’s social and cultural fabric. These changes have contributed to divergent social representations and value conflicts.

The research is structured around six main axes:Generations, democracy, and political valuesEconomic values among youthReligious values and intergenerational conflictGenerations and socio-cultural valuesUrban values among youthGenerations and work valuesThese axes aim to provide a comprehensive analysis of value transformation and generational differentiation within contemporary Algerian society.