The decision of Abdelaziz Bouteflika to revise the Algerian constitution in order to stand for a third term has reinforced the tendency of North African leaders to see themselves as indispensable. Yet practices of orderly succession are crucial to the construction of durable states. This paper examines the issue of succession in a region where Qaddafi has been in power for 40 years, Ben Ali for more than 20, and Bouteflika and Mohamed VI are entering their second decade of rule, and where the military have recently deposed an elected president in Mauritania. What are the consequences of these patrimonial styles of rule for the region? What are the prospects for some form of orderly ‘alternance’ for the Maghreb? The paper will address these questions in the light of recent events in North Africa.