Algeria: From Independence to Civil War

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the Algerian civil war that began in 1991 and extended until 2002 with the defeat of various Islamic fundamentalist groups by the secular government and its forces. The paper argues that the roots of the civil war in the 1990s can be found in the country's war of independence from the French that began in the mid 1950s and ended in 1962. The paper concludes by showing how all the conditions that led to the civil war's outbreak in the early 1990s are still present today.

From the Paper:

"As so much of international conflict throughout history, the political, social, and economic instability that led to civil war in Algeria during the early 1990s has its roots both in its colonial past as well as in its struggle for independence. Algeria gained its independence from France in 1962 but this independence is estimated to have cost the country more than 300k killed while other estimates have placed the number much higher at more than 1m individuals killed due to its armed struggle against France. France struggled mightily to retain its Algerian colony even in the face of increasingly national and global trends for colonial powers to relinquish control of former colonies. Much of the instability that manifested itself during the late 1980s and early 1990s that led to civil war can be traced to the war for independence against the French which actually lasted over a period of 8 years."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Charrad, M. M. (2001). States and Women's Rights: The Making of Postcolonial Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
• Connelly, M. (2002). A Diplomatic Revolution: Algeria's Fight for Independence and the Origins of the Post-Cold War Era. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Milton-Edwards, B. (2004). Islamic Fundamentalism since 1945. New York: Routledge.
• Tessler, M. (2002). Do Islamic Orientations Influence Attitudes toward Democracy in the Arab World? Evidence from Egypt, Jordan Morocco, and Algeria. 229+.
• Weinberg, L. & Pedahzur, A. (Eds.). (2004). Religious Fundamentalism and Political Extremism. London: Frank Cass.

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