Book Description
The violence that has ravaged Algeria has often defied explanation. Regularly invoked in debates about political Islam, transitions to democracy, globalization, and the right of humanitarian interference, Algeria's tragedy has been reduced to a clash of stereotypes: Islamists vs. a secular state, terrorists vs. innocent civilians, or generals vs. a defenseless society. The prevalence of such simplistic representations has disabled public opinion inside as well as outside the country and contributed to the intractability of the conflict. This collection of essays offers a radical corrective to Western misconceptions. Rejecting the usual tautological approaches of inherent, predetermined conflict, Hugh Roberts explores the outlook and evolution of the various internal forces as they emerged—the Islamists, the Berberists, the factions within the army, and the régime in general—and he looks at external interests and actors. He explains their strategies and the maneuvers in which they have engaged. The resulting analyses illuminate the startling dynamics of the conflict and the real issues at stake, and identify the implications not only for Algeria but also for this crucial region. Informed by a deep knowledge of Algeria and Algerian history, these accessible essays guide the reader through the extraordinary politics of the drama in all its complexity.
About the Author
Hugh Roberts is a Senior Research Fellow of the Development Studies Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is the Secretary of the Society for Algerian Studies and a member of the editorial board of the Journal of North African Studies. He lives in London and Cairo.
The Battlefield: Algeria, 1988-2002 FROM THE PUBLISHER
The violence which has ravaged Algeria has often defied explanation. Regularly invoked in debates about 'political Islam', 'transitions to democracy', 'globalisation' and 'the right of humanitarian interference', Algeria's tragedy has been reduced to a clash of stereotypes: Islamists vs. a secular state, terrorists vs. innocent civilians, or generals vs. a defenceless society. The prevalence of such simplistic representations has disabled public opinion inside as well as outside the country, and contributed to the intractability of the conflict.
This collection of studies offers a radical corrective to Western misconceptions. Rejecting essentialist and determinist approaches, Hugh Roberts explores the outlook and evolution of the various internal forces -- the Islamists, the Berberists, the factions within the army and the regime in general -- but also external interests and actors, and explains their strategies and the anoeuvres in which they have engaged. The resulting analyses illuminate the dynamics of the conflict and the real issues at stake, and identify the implications of each development in the action.
Informed by a deep knowledge of Algeria and Algerian history, these studies guide the reader through the extraordinary politics of the drama in all their complexity.
FROM THE CRITICS
Foreign Affairs
A collection of 22 articles of varying length and written at different times between 1988 and 2002 (without later revision) may sound like a miscellany. Not so. This study of Algeria offers thematic unity, but it is detailed and dense. Read first the afterword, which makes it easier to follow the intricacies of Roberts' chronological coverage. Among his major points: The army rules. The rise of the Islamic Salvation Front (known by its French acronym, FIS) was greatly facilitated by the authorities in the late 1980s. FIS, if it had been allowed to take office after its overwhelming December 1991 electoral victory, would not have created an Islamic state because there was too much pluralism in Algerian politics to allow it; all forces, however, can be manipulated by the army authorities. Houari Boumedienne's rule (1965-78), for all its faults, did provide a unifying nationalist mission — one that is now lost. And the renunciation of state socialism has been a political setback, leaving in its wake a regime dominated by the military and beholden to France and the West. Roberts, a leading specialist, challenges prevailing interpretations of Algeria as based on inappropriate outside models. He offers, instead, a constructed-from-within elaboration of Algerian political dynamics.
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