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Matrimonial Strategies: Social Reproduction and Integration

A Case Study of Executive Staff from Algeria

United Arab Emirates University, l_anser{at}yahoo.fr, l_anser{at}qu.edu.qa

This case study attempts to show how a specific social group used marriage as a strategy for social reproduction and integration. Although it is widely accepted that marriage has always served as a strategy for those purposes, it was not clear how it operated. It was mainly analysed in terms of structural determinants; however, based on empirical evidence this article shows it is important to consider it as a conscious and purposeful social action. Despite the fact that well-resourced individuals like executive personnel may have a large margin for manoeuvre to implement their strategies, empirical evidence suggests that marriage is not an individual project even among elites. The family continues to manage social reproduction, integration and coordinate individuals' projects and strategies through marriage and education. Its direct intervention may have diminished in the new context, but it has by no means withered away.

Key Words: family • integration • marriage • matrimonial strategy • social reproduction

Current Sociology, Vol. 55, No. 5, 718-741 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0011392107079927


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