France and the Algerian Conflict: Issues in Democracy and Political Stability, 1988-1995 (Leeds Studies in Democratization) - Hardcover

Bonora-Waisman, Camille

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1840147512 ISBN 13: 9781840147513

Publisher: Dartmouth Publishing Co Ltd, 2003

Synopsis

From its independence from France in 1962 until the begining of a democratiztion process in 1989, Algeria was a one-party state, with the FLN (National Liberation Front) established as the unique party in 1963. In practice, however, the FLN ever ruled Algeria. Its role was limited to the control and mobilization of Algerian society for the implementation of policies designed by the military - the actual nucleus of power. In 1989, following the outbreak of violent popular riots throughout the country, the Algerian administration engaged in a fast-track democratization process which came to parallel a policy of economic liberalization initiated in the early 1980s. Democratization was characterized by the introduction of multi-party politics and the new 1989 Constitution waived major principles that had guided the Algerian Revolution, including socialism, non-alignment and Third-Worldism. The revolt and the democratization process allowed the Islamist movement to enter the political arena, resulting in the Islamic Saviation Front (FIS)'s triumph in Algeria's first free local and regional elections. The prospect of an FIS-dominated parliament, however, led the Algerian Army to stage a coup d'etat, bringing to an end the democratic process. Today, the country is in a virtual state of war between official troops and various guerilla forces. The conflict has been the focus of world attention for many reasons: the barbaric methods used by both sides have been distressing news for believers in the respect of human rights; it raises questions about the political evolution of the Muslim world which draws upon religious dogma to contest the legitimacy of established regimes; and in a context where the fall of the Berlin Wall generated hopes for global democratization, how can a democratic process be dealt with which favours the access to power of a political party which qualifies democracy as alien to the Islamic tradition? The text focuses on France's foreign policy towards Algeria once the democratization process was brought to an end there. This focus is justified because no other state has led as active a policy. It is argued that, if French opposition to the FIS on ideological grounds was similar to most Western states' wincing at a new form of nationalism involving the ideological and cultural spheres, it was primarily motivated by the fact that this challenge to Western policial culture came specifically from Algeria - a country that has emotionally remained a part of France in the French collective imagination.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dartmouth Publishing Co Ltd
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1840147512
• ISBN 13: 9781840147513
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 246