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Chapter 1 Geography ____________________________________________________ 5
Introduction _______________________________________________________________ 5
Geographic Regions and Topographic Features ___________________________________ 5
The Tell _________________________________________________________________________
The High Plateaus and the Saharan Atlas Mountains _____________________________________
Northeastern Algeria ______________________________________________________________
Sahara __________________________________________________________________________
5
6
6
7
Climate ___________________________________________________________________ 8
Rivers and Lakes ____________________________________________________________ 9
Rivers___________________________________________________________________________ 9
Cities ____________________________________________________________________ 10
Algiers _________________________________________________________________________
Oran __________________________________________________________________________
Constantine _____________________________________________________________________
Annaba ________________________________________________________________________
Batna __________________________________________________________________________
11
12
13
14
14
Environmental Concerns ____________________________________________________ 15
Natural Hazards ___________________________________________________________ 16
Chapter 1 Assessments__________________________________________________ 18
Chapter 2 History ______________________________________________________ 19
Introduction ______________________________________________________________ 19
Prehistory ________________________________________________________________ 19
The Carthaginians __________________________________________________________ 20
Romans and Vandals _______________________________________________________ 21
Arab Conquests ____________________________________________________________ 22
Berber Dynasties___________________________________________________________ 23
The Ottomans _____________________________________________________________ 24
Barbary Pirates ____________________________________________________________ 24
The French Conquest _______________________________________________________ 25
Colonial Algeria ____________________________________________________________ 26
Algerian Nationalism _______________________________________________________ 27
The Algerian War of Independence ____________________________________________ 28
Independent Algeria ________________________________________________________ 29
The Boumédienne Era ______________________________________________________ 30
2
Sliding Toward Crisis ________________________________________________________ 31
Reforms __________________________________________________________________ 32
The Algerian Civil War ______________________________________________________ 33
Peace Measures ___________________________________________________________ 34
Recent Events _____________________________________________________________ 35
Chapter 3 Economy ____________________________________________________ 37
Introduction ______________________________________________________________ 37
Agriculture _______________________________________________________________ 38
Industry __________________________________________________________________ 39
Energy Resources __________________________________________________________ 40
Natural Resources__________________________________________________________ 41
Trade ____________________________________________________________________ 42
Tourism __________________________________________________________________ 43
Banking and Currency _______________________________________________________ 44
Investment _______________________________________________________________ 45
Transportation ____________________________________________________________ 46
Standard of Living __________________________________________________________ 48
Organizations _____________________________________________________________ 48
Chapter 4 Society ______________________________________________________ 51
Introduction ______________________________________________________________ 51
Ethnic and Linguistic Groups _________________________________________________ 52
Religion __________________________________________________________________ 53
Gender Issues _____________________________________________________________ 54
Clothing __________________________________________________________________ 55
Arts _____________________________________________________________________ 55
Music __________________________________________________________________________ 55
Film ___________________________________________________________________________ 56
Sports and Recreation ______________________________________________________ 57
Chapter 5 Security _____________________________________________________ 59
Introduction ______________________________________________________________ 59
3
U.S.–Algerian Relations _____________________________________________________ 59
Relations with Neighboring Countries __________________________________________ 60
Morocco _______________________________________________________________________
Mauritania, Mali, and Niger ________________________________________________________
Libya __________________________________________________________________________
Tunisia _________________________________________________________________________
60
62
63
63
Military __________________________________________________________________ 64
Terrorist Groups and Activities _______________________________________________ 65
Other Issues Affecting Stability _______________________________________________ 67
Political Reform _________________________________________________________________ 67
Water and Food _________________________________________________________________ 68
Final Assessments ______________________________________________________ 70
Further Resources ______________________________________________________ 72
Books ____________________________________________________________________ 72
Films ____________________________________________________________________ 73
4
Chapter 1 Geography
Introduction
Algeria is the second-largest country in Africa, trailing only
Sudan, and the 11th-largest country in the world. 1 Over 80% of
Algeria’s vast expanse is desert, part of the world’s largest
desert—the Sahara—which separates the mountainous northern
regions of North Africa from the Sub-Saharan transition zone to
the south known as the Sahel. 2 Algeria’s desert interior, though
sparsely populated, is hardly a forgotten wasteland. Oil and
natural gas fields, which provide most of Algeria’s export
revenues, lie in this region. 3 These energy resources are
transported to foreign markets from Algeria’s port cities,
delivered by pipelines that must traverse the mountains and high
plateaus of the north. It is in this northern region that all of
Algeria’s largest cities are found.
Geographic Regions and Topographic Features
The Tell
Algeria’s most populous and agriculturally
productive region is the Tell, an area of generally
east-west mountain ranges and intervening plains.
From the Moroccan border on the west to the
Soummam River on the east, the Tell is home to
Algeria’s two largest cities, Algiers and Oran, as
well as many of its vineyards, citrus groves,
orchards, and market gardens. 4, 5 The Tell Atlas
ranges become more rugged east of Algiers. Here,
the Great Kayblie mountain block consists of
1
Central Intelligence Agency, “Country Comparison: Area,” in The World Factbook, 24 November 2010,
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/rankorder/2147rank.html?countryName=Algeria&countryCode=ag&regionCode=af&rank=11#ag
2
Mary-Jane Deeb, “Chapter 2. The Society and Its Environment: Physical Setting,” in Algeria: A Country
Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1994), 69.
3
Euan Mearns, “The European Gas Market: Algeria Figure 24,” 13 December 2007,
http://www.321energy.com/editorials/mearns/mearns121307.html
4
History.com, “Algeria: Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing” (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2009),
http://www.history.com/topics/algeria
5
Mary-Jane Deeb, “Chapter 2. The Society and Its Environment: Physical Setting: Geographic Regions:
The Tell,” in Algeria: A Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1994), 72.
5
several ranges where towns and farming villages have long been a homeland for much of
Algeria’s Imazighen (Berber) population. 6
The High Plateaus and the Saharan Atlas Mountains
Immediately south of the Tell region lies a stretch of arid upland plateaus. (Technically,
these plateaus are high-elevation basins between the Tell Atlas and Saharan Atlas
mountains.) 7 Elevations in the High Plateaus range from 1,100 to 1,300 m (3,609 to
4,265 ft) in the east. 8 In the western part of the region, the plateau heights drop to below
400 m (1,312 ft) in the vicinity of Chott el-Hodna, a saline lake. 9 Chott el-Hodna is one
of several salt basins in the highland plateaus that become lakes or marshes during rainy
periods. 10
The Saharan Atlas Mountains parallel the Tell Atlas to the north in a general southwestto-northeast direction. Its ranges are generally higher and less fragmented than the Tell.
The Saharan Atlas Mountains receive more rainfall on average than do the High Plateaus
and serve as grazing lands for livestock. 11, 12
Northeastern Algeria
To the east of the Great Kabylie Mountains is a
region marked by numerous mountain ranges. The
tallest of these are the Aurès Mountains, used for
centuries as a nearly impenetrable refuge by
Berber tribespeople. 13 Djebel Chélia, the highest
peak in this range at 2,328 m (7,638 ft), is the
highest point in northern Algeria. 14 To the north
of the Aurès Mountains, the Little Kabylie
Mountains drop abruptly to the sea except in a
few coastal plains. Between the Little Kayblie
6
Mary-Jane Deeb, “Chapter 2. The Society and Its Environment: Ethnic Groups and Languages: The
Peoples,” in Algeria: A Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1994), 82.
7
R. S. Hughes and J. S. Hughes. “1.1. Algeria,” in A Directory of African Wetlands (Cambridge, UK:
IUCN/UNEP/World Conservation Monitoring Centre, 1992), 11.
8
9
Encyclopædia Britannica, “Chott el-Hodna,” 2010,
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/268629/Chott-el-Hodna
10
Francesca Davis DiPiazza, “The Land: Topography,” in Algeria in Pictures (Minneapolis: Twenty-First
Century Books, 2007), 10.
11
12
Jonathan Oakes, “Chapter 1. Background Information: Geography,” in Algeria (Chalfont St. Peter, UK:
Bradt Travel Guides, 2008), 4.
13
14
History.com, “Algeria: Land: Relief: The Tell,” (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2009),
6
Mountains and the Aurès Mountains are high plains that contain some of the region’s
largest cities (Sétif and Constantine). The farms on these plains produce much of
Algeria’s grains. 15
Sahara
Algeria’s portion of the Sahara lies south of the
Saharan Atlas Mountain. Although this entire
region is dry, it is far from uniform in its physical
features. Great swaths of sand dunes, known as
ergs, lie in the eastern (Grand Erg Oriental) and
western (Grand Erg Occidental) Sahara and
constitute about one quarter of Algeria’s area. 16 In
the center of the Sahara region are humud
(singular, hamada)—flat, rocky, desert terrains
with limited vegetation. One such hamada region
is the Plateau du Tademaït, a huge, barren stretch of land that is invariably described as
“desolate” or “featureless” by visitors. 17, 18 To the Tademaït’s south, the volcanic
Ahaggar Mountains rise from the desert floor, surrounded on their northern and eastern
flanks by the sandstone plateau of Tassili n’Ajjer. 19 Mt. Tahat in the Ahaggar Mountains
is Algeria’s highest point at 3,003 m (9,952 ft). 20 East of the Ahaggar Mountains lies the
Tanezrouft region, a hyperarid region of sandstone formations whose name derives from
the Tuareg word for “waterless desert.” 21 With virtually no water or vegetation, the
Tanezrouft is avoided by most travelers. 22, 23
15
16
Bradt Travel Guides, 2008), 4–5.
17
Kaye and Geoff (no last names given), “Trans-Saharan Trip—Algeria to Gao (Mali),” No date,
http://www.omninet.net.au/~kg/travel/wafrica/waf2.html
18
John Heilpern, “Chapter 5,” in Conference of the Birds: The Story of Peter Brook in Africa (New York:
Routledge, 1999), 56.
19
Hoggar Institute, “The Tassili n’ Ajjer Plateau,” 2010,
http://www.hoggar.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=240&Itemid=39
20
Microsoft Corporation, “MSN Maps & Directions,” No date,
http://maps.msn.com/%28ecl1hk2kpwpwbbyidmkrkl55%29/map.aspx?lats1=23.288923&lons1=5.533754
&alts1=14&regn1=2
21
The Tuareg are a Berber tribespeople who have long been the principal inhabitants of the Sahara region.
22
Hoggar Institute, “The Tanezrouft,” 2010,
http://www.hoggar.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=239&Itemid=38
23
Adrian Room, “Tanezrouft,” in Place Names of the World, 2nd ed. (Jefferson, NC: McFarland &
Company, 2006), 368.
7
Climate
Algeria’s wettest areas are along the
Mediterranean coast and in the higher regions of
the Tell Atlas Mountains. The bulk of this rainfall
occurs between September and May, with the
winter months producing the most reliable
precipitation in the Tell Atlas. 24 Above 900 m
(3,000 ft), snowfall may occur. 25 In the coastal
regions and the Tell Atlas Mountains, annual
rainfall totals generally increase from west to
east. 26 Precipitation rates drop dramatically
beginning on the southern slopes of the Saharan Atlas and Aurès Mountains. 27, 28, 29
Within most of the Sahara region, average rainfall figures are less than 100 mm (3.9 in),
and often much less. 30
Temperatures during the Algerian year are mildest in the coastal region and do not
exhibit the large daily fluctuations seen in the mountain/high plateau regions and the
Sahara. 31 Average daily temperature extremes (the difference between average daily
maximum and average daily minimum temperatures) over the course of the year range
between 5–8°C (9–12.4°F) in coastal Algiers, contrasted with 17–24°C (30.6–43.2°F)
and 15–16°C (27–28.8°F) at In Salah (central Sahara) and Batna (northeastern high
plateau), respectively. 32, 33, 34 Temperatures in the Sahara can climb as high as 50°C
(122°F) during summer days. 35 Northward-blowing winds from the desert, commonly
24
Tony Zurlo, “1. Land of Extremes: The Impact of Geography,” in Algeria (Detroit: Lucent Books, 2005),
11.
25
BBCWeather.com, “Country Guide: Algeria,” No date,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/country_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT000010
26
Falaq Kagda, “Geography,” in Cultures of the World: Algeria (New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1999),
12.
27
BBCWeather.com, “Average Conditions: Biskra, Algeria,” No date,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT000020
28
Weather Underground, “Seasonal Weather Averages: Batna, Algeria,” 2010,
http://www.wunderground.com/NORMS/DisplayIntlNORMS.asp?CityCode=60468&Units=metric&MR=1
29
Jonathan Oakes, “Chapter 6. East Algeria: Biskra,” in Algeria (Chalfont St. Peter, UK: Bradt Travel
Guides, 2008), 170.
30
Best Country Reports, “Precipitation Map of Algeria,” 2008,
http://www.bestcountryreports.com/Precipitation_Map_Algeria.html
31
BBCWeather.com, “Country Guide: Algeria,” No date,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/country_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT000010
32
BBCWeather.com, “Average Conditions: In Salah, Algeria,” No date,
33
Weather Underground, “Seasonal Weather Averages: Batna, Algeria,” 2010,
http://www.wunderground.com/NORMS/DisplayIntlNORMS.asp?CityCode=60468&Units=metric&MR=1
34
BBCWeather.com, “Average Conditions: Algiers, Algeria,” No date,
35
Elisa Santafe, ReliefWeb.com, Agence France-Presse, “W. Sahara Refugees Bemoan the Lack of Work,”
17 May 2010, http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MUMA-85K338?OpenDocument
8
known as sirocco in Europe and as chichili in Algeria, bring heat, dust, and sand to the
northern mountain regions, often at gale-force wind speeds. 36, 37
Rivers and Lakes
Rivers
Algeria has few rivers, and most flow from the
Tell Atlas Mountains toward the Mediterranean
coast. 38 The longest is the Chelif, whose farthest
tributary (the Sebgag River) rises in one of the
ranges of the Saharan Atlas Mountains. After
meandering northward across the High Plateaus,
the Chelif River cuts a gorge through the Tell
Atlas Mountains. 39 Thereafter, the Chelif flows
primarily westward to its mouth near the coastal
city of Mostaganem. The 725-km-long (450-mi)
Chelif is not navigable, but is heavily used for irrigation and drinking water in its lower
reaches. As a result, the river no longer flows in these stretches during the dry summer
months. 40
Of Algeria’s other rivers, the Sahel-Soummam carries the greatest amount of water and is
the unofficial dividing line between Algeria’s Tell and northeastern regions. 41, 42 All
Algerian rivers south of the Tell Atlas Mountains are wadis, streambeds that remain
mostly dry except during rainy periods. Runoff from wadis into the High Plateaus or the
desert regions just south of the Sahara Atlas Mountains often fill chotts, salt lakes located
in geographic depressions. 43 The ephemeral chotts are the primary non-riverine bodies of
water in Algeria. Among the few natural freshwater lakes (not chotts) are lakes Oubeïra
and Tonga, which are separated by only a few kilometers near the coast and the Tunisian
border. Both lakes are quite shallow (0.7–3 m, 2–10 ft) and provide important habitats for
36
Mary-Jane Deeb, “Chapter 2. The Society and Its Environment: Physical Setting: Climate and
Hydrology,” in Algeria: A Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1994), 74.
37
Dean Stahl and Karen Kerchelich, eds., “Chapter 63. Winds and Rains of the World,” in Abbreviations
Dictionary, 10th ed. (Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2001), 1523.
http://www.crcnetbase.com/doi/abs/10.1201/9781420036640.ch63
38
11.
39
Encyclopædia Britannica, “Chelif River,” 2010,
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/108466/Chelif-River
40
Encyclopædia Britannica, “Chelif River,” 2010,
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/108466/Chelif-River
41
42
Arthur Girault, “Algeria,” in Encyclopædia Britannica, Vol. 1 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1910), 643.
43
History.com, “Algeria: Drainage” (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2009),
9
flora and fauna. Since 1983, the two lakes have been part of El Kala National Park, which
was listed as a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1990. 44
Cities
City
Census Population 1998
Estimate 2005 45
Algiers
1,519,570
1,518,083
Oran
692,516
771,066
Constantine
462,187
507,224
Annaba
348,554
383,504
Batna
242,514
317,206
Blida
226,512
264,598
Sétif
211,859
246,379
Sidi bel Abbès
180,260
208,498
Ech Cheliff
179,768
235,062
Biskra
170, 956
207,987
44
Annaba.net.free.fr, “El Kala,” No date, http://annaba.net.free.fr/html/kala.parc.htm
MongaBay.com, “2005 Population Estimates for Cities in Algeria,” 2007,
http://www.mongabay.com/igapo/2005_world_city_populations/Algeria.html
45
10
Algiers
The capital and largest city in Algeria also has one of its richest
histories. Founded as a trading port by the Phoenicians (who
named it Ikosim), it became the Roman city of Icosium after
being conquered in the second century C.E. 46 Invasions during
the seventh century brought Arabs and Islam to the city. The
modern city was founded in the 10th century C.E. under the
Berber Zirids (972–1148), who ruled a vassal state of the
Fatimid Caliphate. 47, 48 Algiers’ present-day English name
derives from its Arabic name El Djazair (“the islands”), a
reference to tiny islets (now connected to land) in the city’s
harbor that were transformed into Spanish forts in 1510. 49, 50
Under nominal Ottoman Empire control for the next three
centuries, Algiers became one of the bases of the Barbary pirates
who regularly raided Mediterranean trading ships. 51 The city’s
famous Casbah (Arabic for “fortress”) was built then. Once a walled city (the walls are
now largely gone), the Casbah is still home to nearly 50,000 people, living in
whitewashed stone and brick houses tucked among winding narrow alleyways. 52, 53 Since
1992, this historic heart of Algiers has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Many buildings in the Casbah have suffered serious neglect. Piecemeal restoration has
occurred over the years, but Algeria’s lack of a significant tourism base has provided
little impetus for a more sustained program of repair. 54, 55
Algiers sits between its busy port on the eastern side and the Sahel Hills to the west,
which separate the city from its agricultural hinterland. 56 The city suffered greatly during
46
Jonathan Oakes, “Chapter 3. Algiers,” in Algeria (Chalfont St. Peter, UK: Bradt Travel Guides, 2008),
62.
47
Michael Brett and Elizabeth Fentress, “3. The Unification of North Africa by Islam,” in The Berbers
(Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers, 1996), 95.
48
Anthony Ham, Nana Luckham, and Anthony Sattin, “History,” in Algeria (Footscray, Victoria, Australia:
Lonely Planet Publications, 2007), 7.
49
62.
50
Anthony Toth, “Chapter 1. Historical Setting: Islam and the Arabs, 642–1830: European Offensive,” in
Algeria: A Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1994), 18.
51
63.
52
Anthony Ham, Nana Luckham, and Anthony Sattin, “Algiers,” in Algeria (Footscray, Victoria, Australia:
Lonely Planet Publications, 2007), 85–88.
53
UNESCO, “Kasbah of Algeria,” 2010, http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/565
54
Djamel Boussaa, “Urban Conservation and Sustainability; Cases From Historic Cities in the Gulf and
North Africa,” Proceedings of the International Conference on Technology and Sustainability in the Built
Environment (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: King Saud University, 2010), 317–320,
http://ipac.kacst.edu.sa/eDoc/2010/183391_1.pdf
55
85–86.
56
17.
11
the Algerian War for Independence (1954–1962) and the Algerian civil war that spanned
a decade between the 1990s and the early 2000s. 57 The city also suffered a flash flood in
2001, which killed more than 900 people, and an earthquake in 2003, which led to the
deaths of more than 400 residents. 58, 59
Oran
Like Algiers, Algeria’s “second city” is an
important port and one of its most important
commercial, industrial, and financial hubs. The
city’s name is a French translation of the Arabic
word for “two lions,” because lions (since hunted
to extinction) were native to the area when the
city was founded. 60 Oran’s proximity to Morocco
to the west and Spain to the north has fostered
Oran’s development as a trade center.
Oran’s history traces to the 10th century, when Moors from Spain’s Andalucia region are
believed to have founded the port as an alternative to the Moroccan port of Ceuta for
handling the gold trade of West Africa. In the 19th century, the French occupied Oran
and the rest of Algeria, and the city became predominately European. The city also
became a haven for Jewish immigrants from elsewhere in Algeria and Morocco. 61 Oran’s
trade during the French period primarily consisted of agricultural goods. Heavy industrial
development came to Oran only after independence in 1962, when much of the large
European community, collectively referred to as pieds-noirs, left the city. 62 During the
war for independence, Oran was a center of operations for the French nationalist terrorist
group Organisation de l’armée secrete (OAS). 63
Culturally, Oran is famous as the birthplace of raï (pronounced “rye”), the popular
Algerian pop music that is a mix of Western and Bedouin musical traditions. 64 Some of
the most famous raï musicians who emerged in the seminal period of the late 1970s and
57
63.
58
PreventionWeb.net, “Algeria—Disaster Statistics,” 2010,
http://www.preventionweb.net/english/countries/statistics/?cid=3
59
CNN.com, “Quake Rescuers Race Against Time,” 22 May 2003,
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/05/22/quake.algeria/
60
16–17.
61
Michael M. Laskier, “Oran,” in Encyclopedia Judaica, 2nd ed. (Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Cengage
Learning, 2008), http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0015_0_15167.html
62
Peter von Sievers, “Oran,” in Gale Encyclopedia of the Mideast and North Africa, No date,
http://www.answers.com/topic/oran
63
Jeff Huebner, “Oran (Oran, Algeria),” in International Dictionary of Historic Places, Vol. 4 (Chicago:
Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1996), 560.
64
Andy Kershaw, BBC Radio 3, “Rai Music in Oran and the Kasbah of Algiers,” June 2007,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p005y2pq
12
1980s got their start in the cabarets of Oran. 65 The city is also an educational center of
Algeria, hosting three major universities. 66
Constantine
Constantine is Algeria’s largest inland city, lying 50 km from
Algeria’s northeastern coast. The city is on a plateau that is
bisected by the dramatically steep Rhumel Gorge. 67 The two
sides of Constantine are connected by narrow car and pedestrian
bridges. 68 Founded as Sarim Batim by Carthaginians,
Constantine later became known as ancient Cirta while serving
as the capital of the Berber kingdom of Numidia. The city was
destroyed in the early fourth century C.E. during a Roman
Empire power struggle. It was rebuilt a few years later and
subsequently renamed after the Roman Emperor Constantine I
(Constantine the Great). 69 Many of Algeria’s noted Roman ruins
are in the region surrounding Constantine. 70
Today, Constantine is a regional administrative center that
handles the local grain trade, and it has a small industrial sector that produces textiles,
leather goods, wool, flour, and tractors. 71 The city is also home to one of the world’s
largest mosques that is also the site of Algeria’s first Islamic university: the Mosque,
University, and Islamic School of Amir Abdel Kader. 72, 73
65
Marc Schade-Poulsen, “2. A Story of Raï,” in Men and Popular Music in Algeria: The Social
Significance of Raï (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1999), 19–21.
66
Webometrics, “Catalogue of World Universities: Universities of Algeria,” No date.,
http://www.webometrics.info/university_by_country.asp?country=dz
67
Jonathan Oakes, “Chapter 6. East Algeria,” in Algeria (Chalfont St. Peter, UK: Bradt Travel Guides,
2008), 153–4.
68
2008), 159.
69
Columbia Encyclopedia, “Constantine,” No date, http://www.answers.com/topic/constantine-algeria
70
19.
71
Columbia Encyclopedia, “Constantine,” No date, http://www.answers.com/topic/constantine-algeria
72
LonelyPlanet.com, “Constantine Sights: Grand Mosque,” 2010,
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/algeria/constantine/sights/religious-spiritual/grand-mosque
73
2008), 160.
13
Annaba
Annaba is the modern incarnation of the ancient
Roman city of Hippo Regius, and some of the
ruins of Hippo Regius are still visible today. 74
Between 396 and 430, Hippo Regius was home to
the Christian theologian and philosopher
Augustine of Hippo, later to become Saint
Augustine. One of Annaba’s modern architectural
landmarks is the Basilica of Saint Augustine,
constructed during the late 19th century on a
small hill above the Roman ruins. 75
Modern Annaba is a bustling port city and handles a large percentage of Algeria’s
mineral exports. A large industrial complex just south of the city at El Hadjar produces
most of Algeria’s crude steel and manufactured steel products. 76 Fertilizer and aluminum
plants are also located in the Annaba region. 77 At the city’s northern end are a string of
coves and beaches with a backdrop of the mountains lying to Annaba’s west. In summer,
these beaches are popular with locals and also attract some foreign visitors. 78
Batna
Of Algeria’s largest cities, Batna is the highest (1040 m, 3,410
ft) and the youngest (founded as a French fort in 1846). 79
Batna’s location near a pass between the Aurès Mountains to the
south and the Batna Mountains to the north provided critical
rationale for the city’s original siting. The French, however, were
not the first occupiers of the region to recognize the area’s
tactical importance. The Romans constructed a military camp
named Lambaesis about 11 km (7 mi) from present-day Batna in
75 C.E. Its ruins, as well as the architectural remains of other
nearby Roman era sites—Timgad and Medracen—help make
Batna the center of a modest local tourism. 80 Transportation also
helps drive the local economy. The city lies on an important road
74
LonelyPlanet.com, “Annaba Sights: Hippo Regius,” 2010,
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/algeria/annaba/sights/ruin/hippo-regius
75
Anthony Ham, Nana Luckham, and Anthony Sattin, “Northeast Algeria,” in Algeria (Footscray, Victoria,
Australia: Lonely Planet Publications, 2007), 113.
76
Mowafa Taib, “The Mineral Industry of Algeria,” in 2008 Minerals Yearbook (U.S. Geological Survey,
July 2010), 2.8–2.9, http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/country/2008/myb3-2008-ag.pdf
77
World Port Source, “Port of Annaba,” No date,
http://www.worldportsource.com/ports/DZA_Port_of_Annaba_1420.php
78
Anthony Ham, Nana Luckham, and Anthony Sattin, “Northeast Algeria,” in Algeria (Footscray, Victoria,
Australia: Lonely Planet Publications, 2007), 115.
79
Ethel Davies, “16. Batna,” in North Africa: The Roman Coast (Chalfont St. Peter, UK: Bradt Travel
Guides, 2008), 217.
80
Ethel Davies, “16. Batna,” in North Africa: The Roman Coast (Chalfont St. Peter, UK: Bradt Travel
Guides, 2008), 217–223.
14
and rail corridor linking Algeria’s eastern Sahara with Constantine and the port cities of
the northeastern coast (Annaba, Skikda).
Environmental Concerns
Algeria faces a variety of environmental concerns. Coastal
pollution is a problem, especially in areas adjacent to large
industrial complexes such as those at Skikda and Arzew. The
former is the site of a large petrochemical complex and refinery,
while the latter is Algeria’s largest oil and gas terminal and is
also the location of one of Algeria’s four refineries. 81, 82 Fertilizer
runoff, inadequate sewage treatment, and other forms of
industrial wastes have exacerbated the problems. 83
Deforestation of Algeria’s once-plentiful forest lands has a
negative effect on Algeria’s wildlife and has also contributed to
desertification. As the Saharan desert lands have continued to
spread northward, the Algerian government has resorted to the
planting of Aleppo pine forests as a breakwall against the
desert’s encroachment. 84 Algeria’s periods of violence have contributed to the
deforestation problem. The French used napalm during the War of Independence to clear
mountainous areas where the nationalist resistance was hidden. The Algerian
government also cleared forests in the 1990s during the Algerian Civil War as a means to
root out Islamist fighters taking refuge in these areas. 85, 86
As a mostly dry country, Algeria must closely monitor its water supply. Since 1962, the
amount of available water in Algeria on a per-capita basis has decreased from 1,500 m3
(53,000 ft3) to 500 m3 (18,000 ft3). Among the reasons for the drop in water supply were
growing demand, drought, water pollution, deteriorating water supply networks, and
largely uncontrolled siphoning through illegal water and sanitation connections. 87, 88 As a
result of these problems, less than 20% of Algerian water customers have unrestricted 24-
81
U.S. Department of Energy, “Country Analysis Briefs: Algeria: Quick Facts” (Energy Information
Administration, June 2010), http://www.eia.doe.gov/cabs/Algeria/Profile.html
82
PR Log, “‘Algeria Petrochemical Report Q4 2010’ Is Now Available at Fast Market Research,” (Fast
Market Research, 19 September 2010), http://www.prlog.org/10940421-algeria-petrochemicals-report-q42010-is-now-available-at-fast-market-research.pdf
83
Grid Africa GeoPortal, “Algeria” (United Nations Development Programme, No date),
http://gridnairobi.unep.org/chm/roa/Country Profiles/Algeria.doc
84
Jonathan Oakes, “Background Information: Geography,” in Algeria (Chalfont St. Peter, UK: Bradt
Travel Guides, 2008), 4.
85
Tom Cooper, “Algerian War, 1954–1962: Defeat of the ALN,” (Air Combat Information Group, 12
November 2003), http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_354.shtml
86
Luis Martinez, “6. New Ways to Make Big Money,” in The Algerian Civil War, 1990–1998 (New York:
Columbia University Press, 2000), 134.
87
Afrik-News.com, “Water Crisis in Algeria May Get Worse,” 4 November 2008, http://www.afriknews.com/article14828.html
88
“Skikda Desalination Plant in Algeria,” in Attracting Investors to African Public-Private Partnerships
(Washington, DC: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank, 2009), 96.
15
hour access to water. 89 The Algerian government has responded with an ambitious
program to build 28 coastal desalination plants by the year 2020, including the largest
such facility in Africa. 90, 91
Natural Hazards
Algeria’s diverse topography and weather
extremes make parts of the country susceptible to
flash floods and landslides during brief periods of
heavy rains, and to fires and drought during dry
periods. 92 The nation’s most damaging natural
disasters are earthquakes. 93 Algeria’s Atlas
Mountains are the geologic result of the
convergence of the African and Eurasian tectonic
plates, and in this region is where the majority of
Algeria’s seismic activity occurs. 94 Since 1980,
five major earthquakes have struck Algeria, leaving thousands of people dead and
causing billions of dollars in damage. The most devastating recent quakes occurred in
1980 when a magnitude 7.3 temblor in the region around Chlef left 3,000 people dead
and 8,000 injured, and in 2003 when one near the coastal city of Bourmerdès (about 60
km/37 mi east of Algiers) left 2,300 dead and 11,000 people injured. 95 The city of Chlef
has been particularly affected, having already been largely destroyed by a quake in
1954. 96
Floods in Algeria unleash large amounts of water down dry riverbeds that sometimes
trigger mudslides in steeper canyon regions. In October 2008, the Saharan oasis city of
Ghardaïa and surrounding villages were struck by flash floods that killed 89 people and
left thousands homeless. Parts of Ghardaïa, a medieval-era town that is a UNESCO
World Heritage Site, were buried in mud up to 8 m (26 ft). 97, 98 In Algiers, intense rainfall
89
Jeremy Goad, “Water Sector Fact-Finding Visit to Algeria, 28th February to 5th March 2010” (UK Trade
and Investment, 2010), 5, http://www.ukti.gov.uk/export/sectors/environmentwater/item/120355.html
90
TerraDaily.com, Agence France-Presse, “Algeria Inaugurates Africa’s Largest Seawater Desalination
Plant,” 24 February 2008,
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Algeria_inaugurates_Africas_largest_seawater_desalination_plant_999.
html
91
“Skikda Desalination Plant in Algeria,” in Attracting Investors to African Public-Private Partnerships
(Washington, DC: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank, 2009), 96.
92
Djillali Benouar, “Natural Hazards Threats to Critical Infrastructure in Algeria,” 1–4 September 2009, 2,
http://www.boku.ac.at/iwhw/idrim2010/docs/presentations/session%20%234/3_Benouar.pdf
93
94
Reed Wicander and James S. Monroe, “23. Cenozoic Earth and Life History,” in The Changing Earth:
Exploring Geology and Evolution, 5th ed. (Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning, 2009), 637,
95
10.
96
Tore Kjeilen, LookLex Encyclopædia, “Ech Cheliff,” No date, http://i-cias.com/e.o/cheliff.htm
97
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, “Algeria: Floods in Ghardaia,” 17
October 2008, http://www.ifrc.org/docs/appeals/08/MDRDZ001ea.pdf
16
in November 2001 triggered massive mudflows that buried parts of the working-class
Bab El Oued district, just north of the Casbah. The final toll of this disaster was 921
deaths, making it Algeria’s worst flood disaster since it became independent in 1962. 99,
100
98
UNESCO World Heritage Convention, “M’Zab Valley,” No date, http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/188
G. Tripoli et al., , “The 9–10 November, 2001 Algerian Flood: A Mesoscale Numerical Study,” 21–26
April 2002, http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2002EGSGA..27.4800T
100
99
17
Chapter 1 Assessments
1. Sand dunes cover one-quarter of Algeria.
True
Known as ergs, these sand dunes are located in the eastern and western parts of the
Sahara.
2. The longest river in Algeria is the Chelif.
True
While it is the longest river in Algeria, most of the Chelif is not navigable.
3. Algiers was founded as a trading city by the Romans.
False
Algiers was founded by the Phoenicians as a trading city.
4. The historic heart of Oran has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.
False
The historic heart of Algiers has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.
5. Salt lakes are the primary non-river bodies of water in Algeria.
True
Known as chotts, these salt lakes are found in geographic depressions.
18
Chapter 2 History
Introduction
Algeria’s colorful history includes the stuff of
1940s Hollywood adventure movies: remote
Roman army garrisons, plundering Barbary
pirates, and French Foreign Legionnaires
marching through the Saharan sands. These
historical snapshots, though superficial, illustrate
that Algerian history includes multiple invasions.
The native Berbers have been resilient, adapting
when necessary—most notably in the Arab
invasions of the 7th and 11th centuries. The
concept of a separate Algerian state appears relatively late in the historical narrative,
during the Ottoman era.
Since gaining independence from France in 1962, the Algerian government has worked
to define a unique national identity. This includes attempts to sweep aside cultural and
linguistic differences through a “one-party-fits-all” political structure and an often
divisive Arabization policy. The civil war of the 1990s and early 2000s was a defining
national historical moment, leaving wounds in Algeria’s cultural fabric that remain
unhealed.
Prehistory
A robust archaeological record reveals the
presence of hominids (human-like predecessors)
stretching to 200,000 B.C.E. Remnants from
Neanderthals date to 43,000–30,000 B.C.E., and
human fossils and artifacts date from around
15,000–10,000 B.C.E. 101, 102 Cave paintings in the
Algerian Sahara, dating from 6,000–1,200 B.C.E.,
show giraffes, elephants, and other animals that
today are only found in much wetter
environments. 103, 104
101
Anthony Toth, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: Prehistory of Central North Africa,” in Algeria: A
Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1993), 4.
102
Phillip C. Naylor, “Introduction,” in North Africa: A History from Antiquity to the Present (Austin:
University of Texas Press, 2009), 5.
103
Phillip C. Naylor, “Introduction,” in North Africa: A History from Antiquity to the Present (Austin:
University of Texas Press, 2009), 6.
104
Barnaby Rogerson, “Chapter 1: The Springboard of Mankind,” in A Traveller’s History of North Africa,
2nd ed. (New York: Interlink Books, 2001), 7–8.
19
Somewhere along the way a group of indigenous people emerged within North Africa
that today are referred to as the Berbers. The Berbers are a highly diverse group of people
whose languages are remarkably similar. 105 Their origins are speculative, as little
evidence exists for major migrations into the region. 106 It has been argued that migration
into North Africa by early Berbers likely occurred relatively briefly, and was followed by
an extended period of isolation from outsiders. 107, 108
The Carthaginians
During the mid- to late eighth century B.C.E.,
Phoenician traders arrived by sea in North Africa
from their home port in modern-day Lebanon. 109
The Phoenicians established the colony of
Carthage, which quickly expanded and became
the center of Phoenician settlements along the
North African coast. 110 Rather than try to conquer
the Berber tribes, the Carthaginians initially
focused on developing trade relations with their
neighbors. After a military defeat by the Greeks in
Sicily in 480 B.C.E., the Carthaginian leader Hanno initiated a colonization policy toward
Carthage’s hinterland. Many Berbers in modern-day Libya and Tunisia became, in effect,
serfs for their Carthaginian overlords. 111 Other Berber tribespeople were taken as slaves
or recruited for the Carthaginian military. 112, 113
Following the Punic Wars against Rome in the third century B.C.E, Berber soldiers in the
Carthaginian army rebelled, gaining control of some North African territories. 114 Further
military defeats helped Masinissa, the Berber leader and Roman ally, establish himself as
king of the Berber-populated region. This region included eastern and central Algeria as
105
Michael Brett and Elizabeth Fentress, “1: Berbers in Antiquity,” in The Berbers (Oxford, UK: Blackwell
Publishers, 1996), 15, 17.
106
Publishers, 1996), 12–16.
107
Publishers, 1996), 15.
108
B. H. Warmington, “Chapter I: The Foundation of Carthage,” in Carthage (New York: Frederick A.
Praeger, 1960), 14, http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&docId=9384201
109
Phillip C. Naylor, “Chapter 1: Ancient North Africa and Its Expansive Civilizations,” in North Africa: A
History from Antiquity to the Present (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2009), 26.
111
Barnaby Rogerson, “Chapter 2: Carthage: Empire and Culture, 814–450 BC,” in A Traveller’s History
of North Africa, 2nd ed. (New York: Interlink Books, 2001), 27.
111
Barnaby Rogerson, “Chapter 2: Carthage: Empire and Culture, 814–450 BC,” in A Traveller’s History
of North Africa, 2nd ed. (New York: Interlink Books, 2001), 27.
112
Anthony Toth, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: North Africa During the Classical Period: Carthage and
the Berbers,” in Algeria: A Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1993), 7.
113
Tony Zurlo, “2: Many Masters: History to the Nineteenth Century,” in Algeria (Detroit: Lucent Books,
2005), 20.
114
Anthony Toth, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: North Africa During the Classical Period: Carthage and
the Berbers,” in Algeria: A Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1993), 7.
20
well as western Tunisia. 115 Parts of the kingdom survived for about 150 years until being
annexed into the Roman Empire as the Africa Nova province. 116
Romans and Vandals
For most of the next 500 years, northern Algeria
was under Roman rule. Striking ruins from this
period remain scattered throughout the Algerian
countryside, including those at the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) World Heritage Sites at Djemila,
Timgad, and Tipasa. 117 Algeria and other parts of
North Africa became known as the “granary of
the empire,” exporting grain, fruit, and olive oil to
other parts of the Roman domain. 118
Christianity began to spread in the region during the second century C.E., and by the end
of the fourth century most settled areas had largely converted. 119 In rural mountains and
desert regions, Christianity vied with Judaism and traditional tribal beliefs, with people
sometimes mixing Christian and non-Christian practices. 120
Roman rule over North Africa was disrupted in 429 B.C.E., when members of a
Germanic tribe known as the Vandals invaded North Africa from Spain. Within a decade
the Vandals established control over all of North Africa, but their reign was tenuous and
short. With the Romans no longer around, several independent Berber kingdoms took
root in the mountains and inland deserts. 121 The Vandals were more interested in using
their North African bases—most notably, Carthage—to launch lucrative pirate raids
throughout the Mediterranean. 122
In 533, Byzantine (Eastern Roman Empire) General Belisarius landed in modern-day
Tunisia with an army that quickly routed the Vandal plunderers and brought North Africa
once again under nominal Roman imperial control. During much of the next century, the
115
Phillip C. Naylor, “Chapter 2: Rome and North Africa,” in North Africa: A History from Antiquity to the
Present (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2009), 38.
116
Barnaby Rogerson, “Chapter 4: The Roman Conquest of North Africa, 202 BC–46 AD,” in A
Traveller’s History of North Africa, 2nd ed. (New York: Interlink Books, 2001), 50.
117
UNESCO, “World Heritage Convention: Algeria,” 2011, http://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/dz
118
Anthony Toth, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: North Africa During the Classical Period: The Roman
Era,” in Algeria: A Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1993), 8.
119
120
2005), 22.
121
122
Barnaby Rogerson, “Chapter 8: Bishops, Barbarians, and Byzantium, 400–647,” in A Traveller’s
History of North Africa, 2nd ed. (New York: Interlink Books, 2001), 104.
21
Byzantines were preoccupied with military affairs elsewhere, allowing Berber kingdoms
to thrive in the hinterlands. 123, 124
Arab Conquests
The next foreign invasion forever changed the
region’s identity. On the Arabian Peninsula, Islam
spread during the early decades of the seventh
century, its message carried by a prophet from
Mecca named Muhammad. 125 After Muhammad’s
death in 632 C.E., Arab military forces waged
campaigns of conquest, spreading Islam as they
went. Although the Arab armies quickly
conquered western Asia, they faced prolonged
resistance in North Africa. 126 Byzantine and
Berber forces in the region of modern-day Tunisia and eastern Algeria successfully
resisted the Arab armies for several decades. Despite this resistance, by 711 all of North
Africa was under the control of the Umayyad caliphate, the Arab hereditary monarchy
that carried the mantle of Islam from the late seventh century through the first half of the
eighth century. 127, 128 A revolt against the Umayyads led to the Abbasid Caliphate in 750.
The Abbasids were not as vested in maintaining Arab control over the Islamic empire;
thus, they allowed regional dynasties to emerge in the far-flung corners of the non-Arab
Muslim world. 129
By the 11th century, Algeria and adjacent parts of North Africa had been part of the
Islamic world for several hundred years but, unlike other Islamic regions, the local
population was not significantly “Arabized.” Not until the mid-11th century, when two
large tribes of Arab Bedouins invaded the region of modern-day Algeria and Tunisia, did
native Berber society begin to significantly fuse with Arab culture. The use of Arabic as a
primary language in the Algerian countryside can be traced to this time. 130, 131
123
2005), 22.
124
125
Seyyed Hossein Nasr, “Muhammad,” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2009,
http://www.history.com/topics/muhammad
126
Barnaby Rogerson, “Chapter 9: The Arab Conquest, 647–710,” in A Traveller’s History of North Africa,
2nd ed. (New York: Interlink Books, 2001), 119.
127
Anthony Toth, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: Islam and the Arabs, 642–1830,” in Algeria: A Country
128
Phillip C. Naylor, “Chapter 3: Medieval North Africa,” in North Africa: A History from Antiquity to the
129
130
Anthony Toth, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: Islam and the Arabs, 642–1830: Fatimids,” in Algeria: A
22
Berber Dynasties
From the mid-11th through mid-13th centuries,
the western part of North Africa spawned Islamic
reform movements that ultimately emerged as
powerful Berber dynasties. The first was the
Almoravids, led by Lamtuna Berbers from the
western Sahara. 132 After establishing the southern
Moroccan city of Marrakesh as their capital in
1062, the Almoravids conquered a large part of
the western Sahara and Sahel, central and
southern Spain, and western Algeria all the way to
Algiers. 133 The Almoravids’ empire ended around the middle of the 12th century. 134
Another religious rebellion arose in Morocco’s High Atlas Mountains in the 1120s. 135
Known as the Almohads, these Berber warriors swept across North Africa, conquering all
of modern-day northern Algeria and Tripolitania (western Libya) by 1160. By 1229,
much of the Almohad movement had passed, and its original conservative teachings were
abandoned and replaced by more tolerant interpretations. 136 Ongoing wars in Spain
drained the Almohad coffers. By 1271, the last Almohad stronghold in Marrakesh fell. 137
The Zayanid and Hafsid dynasties took over the Algerian part of the Almohad empire.
The Zayanid capital of Tlemcen became known as the “pearl of the Mahgrib [North
Africa]” and prospered as a gateway for desert caravan trade. 138
131
132
Barnaby Rogerson, “Chapter 9: The Almoravid, 1042–1147,” in A Traveller’s History of North Africa,
133
Phillip C. Naylor, “Chapter 4: The Almoravid and Almohad Empires and Their Successor States,” in
North Africa: A History from Antiquity to the Present (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2009), 90–91.
134
Barnaby Rogerson, “Chapter 9: The Almoravid, 1042–1147,” in A Traveller’s History of North Africa,
135
Barnaby Rogerson, “Chapter 10: The Almohad Empire, 1147–1246,” in A Traveller’s History of North
Africa, 2nd ed. (New York: Interlink Books, 2001), 175.
136
Anthony Toth, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: Islam and the Arabs, 642–1830: Almohads,” in Algeria: A
137
138
Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1993), 16–17.
23
The Ottomans
By the early 16th century, the North African Berber dynasties
were under assault by Christian Spain, which had cast out or
forcefully converted its Muslim population, and Spanish
crusaders were establishing forts on the North African coast. 139
The Spanish rapidly established presidios (forts) in Oran,
Algiers, Tlemcen, Bejaia, and other cities. 140
Brothers Aruj and Khair ad Din were privateers (a polite term for
pirates), who moved their base of operations to Algiers and
staged campaigns against Spanish strongholds during the 1510s
and 1520s. 141 Aruj was killed in 1518, but his brother carried on
with assistance from the Ottoman Empire. 142 By 1533 Khair ad
Din, now known far and wide as Barbarossa (“Redbeard”), had
successfully pushed the Spanish out of many of their North
African enclaves. 143 He was appointed beylerbey (provincial governor) and admiral of the
Ottoman fleet by the Ottoman Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, and Algiers became the
center of Ottoman administration in North Africa. 144, 145
Barbary Pirates
Algiers became the home port of many of the
privateers who made the so-called Barbary Coast
(derived from “Berber”) the scourge of
Mediterranean and Atlantic shipping over the next
several centuries. For the first time, Algeria
emerged as a separate geographical and political
entity. 146 Ottoman rule over the Algerian regency
was relatively hands-off. As long as the local
governor (known as the dey) and his provincial
chiefs (beys) received their share of the spoils, the
139
Anthony Toth, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: Islam and the Arabs, 642–1830: European Offensive,” in
Algeria: A Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1993), 17–18.
140
Phillip C. Naylor, “Chapter 5: Turkish Ascendance and Moroccan Independence,” in North Africa: A
History from Antiquity to the Present (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2009), 117.
141
Barnaby Rogerson, “Chapter 15: Christian Crusaders and Cosair Captains, 1415–1578,” in A Traveller’s
History of North Africa, 2nd ed. (New York: Interlink Books, 2001), 214.
142
Anthony Toth, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: Islam and the Arabs, 642–1830: Ottoman Rule,” in
143
144
145
C. Carpenter, “Interventions in North Africa,” in World and Its People, vol. 9 (Tarrytown, NY: Marshall
Cavendish, 2007), 1180.
146
2005), 27.
24
Barbary ports and their privateer fleets were largely left alone. 147, 148
By 1815, the United States and most of Europe’s naval powers were at war against
Algeria and the other privateering states of North Africa. 149 An attack on Algiers’ harbor
by British naval forces in 1816 resulted in the destruction of 33 pirate ships and the
liberation of over 1,000 captives, but it did little to curtail attacks on foreign ships. But
the end of the era of the Algerian Barbary state was little more than a decade away—the
culmination of a series of events famously triggered by the actions of an insulted dey and
his fly whisk. 150
The French Conquest
In 1827, France’s restored monarch Charles X
was facing growing unpopularity at home. A
successful foreign military campaign seemed like
one potential way to reverse his declining
fortunes. 151, 152 During a meeting with the French
consul in Algiers, the Algerian dey, insulted by
the consul’s response to one of his questions,
flicked his fly whisk in the consul’s face. That
was apparently enough of an “international
incident” to trigger a French naval blockade of
Algiers. After several years, the blockade failed to make the Algerians back down, so the
French sent an invading land force of over 30,000 soldiers that captured Algiers within 3
weeks. 153 The ensuing looting of the city recouped the entire cost of the French military
operation. 154
The successful invasion of Algiers failed to help Charles X, who was deposed a few
weeks later. French settlers began streaming into the countryside outside Algiers, moving
onto valuable, confiscated farmland. 155 As the French military consolidated control over
147
2005), 27.
148
149
150
2005), 28.
151
Anthony Toth, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: France in Algeria, 1830–1962,” in Algeria: A Country
152
Barnaby Rogerson, “Chapter 18: Colonists and Consuls: The European Conquests, 1830–1930, 1415–
1578,” in A Traveller’s History of North Africa, 2nd ed. (New York: Interlink Books, 2001), 258.
153
Anthony Toth, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: France in Algeria, 1830–1962: Invasion of Algiers,” in
154
155
Ross Marlay and Lesley J. Pruitt, “Algeria,” in Encyclopedia of the Developing World, vol. 1 (New
York: Routledge, 2006), 28.
25
the coastal regions, they continued to face significant revolts in the tribal hinterlands.
Two leading figures in the early resistance against the French colonialists were Bey Haj
Ahmed of Constantine and Abdel Kader, leader of the western tribes. 156 An initial
campaign against Ahmed in 1836 led to a French retreat, but Constantine was conquered
the next year in a fierce battle that forced Ahmed to flee to the southern plains of the
Saharan Atlas. 157 Abdel Kader fared better for a while after signing a treaty with the
French in 1837, but by 1839 French plans to expand into the interior brought the two
sides into conflict again. Fighting continued until Abdel Kader, forced into refuge in
Morocco, surrendered in December 1847. 158
Colonial Algeria
The French policy of assimilating their new
colony into the French world was completely
opposite that of the Ottomans. French settlers
began arriving in Algeria in droves, receiving free
or cheap farmland as an enticement. For French
authorities such as Minister of War General
Etienne-Maurice Gérard, Algeria represented “a
vast outlet for our surplus population.” 159 These
French settlers came to be known as colons or
pieds-noirs (“black feet”). 160 There was also an
influx of newcomers to Algeria from other European Mediterranean countries. 161 Rural
Muslim Algerian families found themselves uprooted by this settler migration, forced
either to relocate farther inland, or to move to cities to find work there. 162
Unlike elsewhere in colonial North Africa, Algeria became intrinsically interwoven with
its colonizer in administrative and economic matters as well as in French public
perception. Algeria was divided into three départments (French states) that, in theory at
least, were comparable to those that made up European France. 163 But Algerian Muslims,
unlike the Christian and Jewish population of the colony, were not automatically entitled
to French citizenship. Only after 1865 were Muslims allowed to apply for French
citizenship, provided they were willing to renounce their religion. According to a U.S.
156
1578,” in A Traveller’s History of North Africa, 2nd ed. (New York: Interlink Books, 2001), 259–261.
157
1578,” in A Traveller’s History of North Africa, 2nd ed. (New York: Interlink Books, 2001), 259–260.
158
2005), 29–30.
159
Tony Zurlo, “3: From Colony to Independence,” in Algeria (Detroit: Lucent Books, 2005), 31.
160
Phillip C. Naylor, “Chapter 6: European Colonialism in North Africa,” in North Africa: A History from
Antiquity to the Present (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2009), 155.
161
162
163
Phillip C. Naylor, “Chapter 6: European Colonialism in North Africa,” in North Africa: A History from
Antiquity to the Present (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2009), 155.
26
government report, fewer than 3,000 Algerian Muslims took this step during the entire
French colonial era. 164
Periodic revolts continued in the tribal regions outside the cities. An 1866 drought and
crop failure in the Berber-populated region of Kabylia led to an estimated death toll of
20% over the next 3 years. When rebellion broke out there in 1871, it quickly spread to
the Sahara before the French military was able to suppress it. The French imposed heavy
fines on Muslims involved in the revolt—fines that were often collected by forcing
landowners to sell their acreage at government-set prices. 165
Algerian Nationalism
A new generation of Algerian Muslims emerged in the 1920s
and 1930s, many of whom had served in the French military or
worked in French factories during World War I. 166 Having been
exposed to a higher standard of living and a more democratic
political environment while in France, they returned to Algeria
less willing to accept the status quo. 167 A smaller but influential
group was the évolués, the French-educated members of Muslim
families that had managed to rise within the mainly closed
colonial system. The first Algerian political reform movement,
the Young Algerians, consisted primarily of évolués and
emerged even prior to World War I. After the war, other groups
sprang up: the Federation of Elected Natives (FEI) was an
offshoot of the Young Algerians; the Star of North Africa
(ENA), a Paris-based group with communist support that was the
first to push for Algerian independence; and the Party of the Algerian People (PPA). 168
World War II was a turning point in Algeria’s path towards independence. After
Germany invaded France in 1940, Algeria came under the control of the collaborationist
Vichy regime, but was liberated in late 1942 by British and U.S. troops. Nearly 16% of
Algeria’s Muslim population enlisted in the Allied war effort, even though few were
actually French citizens. This percentage was similar to that of the French Algerian
enlistees, i.e., colons. 169 Algerian reform leaders such as Ferhat Abbas tried to negotiate
164
166
C. M. Andrew and A. S. Kanya-Forstener, “France, Africa, and the First World War,” Journal of
African History, vol. 19 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1978), 14–16.
http://web.viu.ca/davies/H482.WWI/France.Africa.WWI.pdf
167
Anthony Toth, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: France in Algeria, 1830–1962: Algerian Nationalism,” in
168
Anthony Toth, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: France in Algeria, 1830–1962: Algerian Nationalism:
Political Movements,” in Algeria: A Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office,
1993), 34–35.
169
Benjamin Stora, “Introduction,” in Algeria, 1830–2000: A Short History (Ithaca: Cornell University
Press, 2001), 20.
165
27
with Free French leader Charles de Gaulle and the new governor general of Algeria,
Georges Catroux, for guarantees on greater legal rights and political freedoms for
Algeria’s Muslim population. The French leadership countered with what the Algerians
viewed as half-hearted reform measures. 170 By the end of the war, even moderate Ferhat
Abbas, who had long supported Algeria’s integration with France, had come to the
conclusion that Algerian independence within a French federation was the only viable
path. 171
The Algerian War of Independence
Post-war Algeria was a powder keg waiting for a
match. Disparities in income and economic
opportunities between the colons and the Muslims
contributed to growing friction. Radicalism and
militancy began to take root in some of the reform
organizations. One of these was the Revolutionary
Committee of Unity and Action (CRUA),
operating out of Cairo. This organization later
renamed itself the National Liberation Front
(FLN), the political front for the revolutionary
National Liberation Army (ALN). 172
Fighting began on 1 November 1954, with attacks against military and police
installations and critical infrastructure in the Aurès Mountains. The initial French
response was resolute. On 12 November, French Premier Pierre Mendès declared “The
Algerian departments are part of the French Republic.…Between them and metropolitan
France there can be no conceivable secession.” The war took a new turn in August 1955,
when over 100 civilians were killed near the city of Phillipeville (Skikda). 173 The level of
terrorist violence in this guerrilla war escalated significantly thereafter, with thousands of
civilian colons and Muslims victimized by bombings and shootings. 174 From 1957 to
170
Anthony Toth, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: France in Algeria, 1830–1962: Polarization and
Politicization,” in Algeria: A Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1993),
40–41.
172
Anthony Toth, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: France in Algeria, 1830–1962: Polarization and
Politicization,” in Algeria: A Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1993),
40–44.
173
Anthony Toth, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: France in Algeria, 1830–1962: War of Independence:
Phillipeville,” in Algeria: A Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1993), 40–
46.
174
Conduct of the War,” in Algeria: A Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office,
1993), 48–49.
171
28
1960, French forces took more than 2 million people from Algerian mountain villages
and put them in detention camps. 175
As the conflict dragged on, opposition grew in France as more and more young citizens
were conscripted into the French military. World opinion also tended to side with the
FLN’s demand for independence. 176 An angry group of colons in Algiers, feeling that the
de Gaulle government was abandoning them, staged an unsuccessful insurrection against
the government in January 1960. The militant colons continued their terrorist activities,
and even plotted with some French military leaders to seize power in Algeria and to
overthrow the de Gaulle government in France. The coup plot came to nothing, as most
of the French military stayed loyal to the government. 177, 178
Independent Algeria
On 18 March 1962 a ceasefire took effect between the ALN and
French forces, although the Secret Army Organization (OAS), a
colon vigilante group, continued its campaign of terrorism for
several months. An election on 1 July overwhelmingly expressed
Algerian public support for independence; on 5 July 1962
Algeria officially became a sovereign nation. Fewer than 30,000
of Algeria’s European population stayed in Algeria following
independence. 179
With the fight against the French no longer a unifying force,
Algeria’s leadership within the FLN became highly factional.
Two leading figures emerged during this period: Ahmed Ben
Bella, one of the chefs historiques, and Colonel Houari
Boumédienne, the chief of staff of the ALN. The two men
formed an alliance, with Ben Bella serving as Algeria’s premier and Boumédienne as
defense minister. 180 Ferhat Abbas was elected president of the National Assembly but
resigned less than a year later in protest of the FLN’s increasingly dominant role in the
175
Conduct of the War,” in Algeria: A Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office,
1993), 51.
176
Anthony Toth, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: France in Algeria, 1830–1962: War of Independence: De
Gaulle,” in Algeria: A Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1993), 53.
177
Tony Zurlo, “3: From Colony to Independence,” in Algeria (Detroit: Lucent Books, 2005), 41–42.
178
Anthony Toth, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: France in Algeria, 1830–1962: War of Independence: De
Gaulle/The Generals’ Putsch,” in Algeria: A Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing
Office, 1993), 54.
179
Anthony Toth, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: France in Algeria, 1830–1962: War of Independence: The
Generals’ Putsch,” in Algeria: A Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1993),
55.
180
Anthony Toth, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: Independent Algeria, 1962–1992,” in Algeria: A Country
Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1993), 56–57.
29
drafting of the new constitution.181 This constitution was passed in a September 1963
referendum. Ben Bella was elected the nation’s first president a week later. 182
Ben Bella pushed for agricultural reform and nationalization of large businesses and
industries. 183 State-owned enterprises were run by the workers and government-appointed
directors, a policy known as autogestion. 184 Ben Bella also focused on consolidating his
power base by purging potential political opponents. As Boumédienne saw his closest
allies fall victim to this process, he removed Ben Bella from power in a June 1965
military coup. This was a key event in the early history of independent Algeria. 185
Boumédienne held power in Algeria for the next 13 years. The Boumédienne coup also
marked the first of many instances when the military controlled the transition of power in
Algeria. 186
The Boumédienne Era
Under Boumédienne, the FLN remained the sole political party
in Algeria, although the military remained the most powerful
state institution.187, 188 Boumédienne survived several coups and
an assassination attempt in 1967, after which he strengthened his
power by exiling or imprisoning his opponents. Politicians and
military officials shared power in the Council of the Revolution,
initially a 26-member consultative body that oversaw the
activities of the country’s cabinet, which was appointed by
Boumédienne.
Algeria’s economy under the Boumédienne regime continued on
the socialist path established during the Ben Bella period.
Regular Three- and Four-Year Plans generally emphasized the
development of state-run, capital-intensive heavy industries. As a
181
Benjamin Stora, “11: Ben Bella’s Algeria (1963–1965),” in Algeria, 1830–2000: A Short History
(Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001), 133.
182
Benjamin Stora, “11: Ben Bella’s Algeria (1963–1965),” in Algeria, 1830–2000: A Short History
(Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001), 133.
183
Answers.com, “Ahmed Ben Bella,” Gale Encyclopedia of Biography, No date,
http://www.answers.com/topic/ahmed-ben-bella
184
Anthony Toth, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: Independent Algeria, 1962–1992: Aftermath of the War,”
in Algeria: A Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1993), 58.
185
Anthony Toth, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: Independent Algeria, 1962–1992: Ben Bella and the
FLN,” in Algeria: A Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1993), 58–60.
186
Tony Zurlo, “4: The Struggle for Stability,” in Algeria (Detroit: Lucent Books, 2005), 47.
187
Benjamin Stora, “12: Boumédienne, the State, and the Institutions,” in Algeria, 1830–2000: A Short
History (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001), 144.
188
30
result, unemployment remained high because of lack of attention to labor-intensive
segments of the economy, such as agriculture and light manufacturing. 189, 190 Much of
Algeria’s heavy industrial development was funded by hydrocarbon exports. 191
During the last years of the Boumédienne regime, Algeria’s central government began to
take on a more formally defined structure. The country’s first constitution, passed in
1963, had been suspended since the 1965 coup ousting Ben Bella. 192 In 1976 a National
Charter was approved, followed by the drafting of a new constitution the next year. Both
documents reaffirmed the FLN’s role as Algeria’s sole political party and continued the
tradition of an executive office with strongly consolidated powers. 193
Sliding Toward Crisis
Boumédienne died in December 1978, leaving no obvious
successor. 194 The two leading candidates failed to gather the
support of the senior military leadership, who instead selected
Colonel Chadli Bendjedid as a compromise. In February 1979,
he was officially elected Algeria’s new president with 94% of
the vote (a typical margin in a country with just one political
party). 195 Bendjedid, a member of the Council of the Revolution
but hardly a major political player prior to his election, was
generally viewed as a “loyal, business-like, and competent
professional.” 196 Early expectations were that he would continue
to carry out the Boumédienne agenda; this would not be the case.
He broke many large state-run enterprises into smaller pieces—
weakening their monopolization of the country’s investment
capital—and liberalized the economy. Light industries and
189
Boulos A. Malik, “Chapter 3: The Economy: Development Planning,” in Algeria: A Country Study
(Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1993), 131.
190
191
John P. Entelis and Lisa Arone, “Chapter 4: Government and Politics: Political Environment:
Boumediene and the Socialist Experiment: Council of the Revolution, 1965–1975,” in Algeria: A Country
192
Phillip C. Naylor, “Constitution of 1976,” in Historical Dictionary of Algeria (Oxford, UK: Scarecrow
Press, 2006).
193
Boumediene and the Socialist Experiment: Formation of the Second Algerian Republic, 1976–1979,” in
194
Boumediene and the Socialist Experiment: Formation of the Second Algerian Republic, 1976–1979,” in
195
Martin Stone, “3: Algeria Under Chadli Bendjedid,” in The Agony of Algeria (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1997), 58.
196
John Ruedy, “Chapter 8: The Bendjedid Years—Readjustment and Crisis,” in Modern Algeria: The
Origins and Development of a Nation, 2nd ed. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2005), 232.
31
agriculture were given much larger shares of the nation’s budget, at the expense of heavy
industries. 197
During the 1980s, Algeria continued to face issues of national identity, a vestige of the
French colonial era. 198 Language was one of these issues. A government policy
mandating greater use of Arabic in education (rather than French) touched off protests in
March 1980 by Kabyle (Berber) students who felt that their culture and language
(Tamazigh) was being slighted. These protests eventually turned violent and spilled over
into the surrounding Kabylia regions. 199
Ultimately, declining economic conditions provoked the most significant changes in the
Algerian government. Oil prices dropped in the mid-1980s, forcing Algeria to spend an
ever-higher percentage of its budget on repaying its debt. 200 A cascade of problems,
including unemployment, inflation, and a lack of housing and basic services, continued to
get worse. 201 In October 1988, riots broke out in Algiers and spread to other major cities,
forcing the government to call a state of emergency and send in security forces to quell
the violence.
Reforms
After the so-called “Black October” riots, the
government implemented various political
reforms, as well as some other measures meant to
appease the demands of the growing Islamist
movement within the country. A new constitution
passed in 1989 guaranteed various freedoms of
expression and congregation, officially dropped
“socialist” from the nation’s description, and
removed references to the rights of women
included in the country’s previous constitution. 202
(The latter change reflected restrictions in women’s marital rights instituted in a family
code passed in 1984, backed by conservative Islamists.) 203
Perhaps the most important political change was the constitution’s removal of many
restrictions on the formation of political organizations. Within months of the
197
John Ruedy, “Chapter 8: The Bendjedid Years—Readjustment and Crisis,” in Modern Algeria: The
Origins and Development of a Nation, 2nd ed. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2005), 233.
198
Benjamin Stora, “15: The Jamming of the System (1979–1988),” in Algeria, 1830–2000: A Short
199
Martin Stone, “3: Algeria Under Chadli Bendjedid,” in The Agony of Algeria (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1997), 61–62.
200
Martin Stone, “4: The Economy in Crisis,” in The Agony of Algeria (New York: Columbia University
Press, 1997), 96.
201
Tony Zurlo, “4: The Struggle for Stability,” in Algeria (Detroit: Lucent Books, 2005), 50–51.
202
Anthony Toth, “Chapter 1: Historical Setting: Independent Algeria, 1962–1992: Chadli Benjedid and
Afterward,” in Algeria: A Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1993), 63.
203
John P. Entelis and Lisa Arone, “Chapter 4: Government and Politics: Civil Society: The Women’s
Movement,” in Algeria: A Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1993), 216.
32
constitution’s approval, numerous political parties sprang to life. Foremost among these
was the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), which sought to base the country’s legal system on
Islamic Shari’a law. 204 The FIS won more than 54% of the vote in local elections held in
1990, though this high percentage was partly a result of election boycotts by other, nonIslamist parties. 205, 206 After the FIS won 47% of the votes during the first round of voting
for seats in the National Assembly, held in December 1991, it was clear they would have
a substantial legislative majority after the January 1992 second-round of voting. 207 Some
Algerian liberals feared that an Iranian-style theocratic state would result if the FIS were
to sweep into power. 208
The Algerian Civil War
The 1992 second-round elections were never held,
however—the FIS’s pending political ascendancy
caused the military leadership to take political
control. Bendjedid was forced to resign, as
military leaders felt he had been too
accommodating to the FIS. 209 Mohamed Boudiaf,
one of the nine chefs historiques of the War of
Independence, returned from a 27-year exile in
Morocco to become head of the newly created
High Council of State (HCE). 210 In March 1992, a
state of emergency was called. The FIS was soon outlawed, and thousands of its members
were arrested. Militant Islamic groups—most notably, the Armed Islamic Group (GIA)
and the Islamic Salvation Army (AIS)—retaliated by initiating a string of attacks that
plunged Algeria into a violent civil war that lasted for over a decade. It is estimated that
over 100,000 Algerian civilians were killed during this conflict. 211
Boudiaf was assassinated in June 1992. He was subsequently replaced by civilian Ali
Kafi and later by retired General Liamine Zeroual, who was elected president in 1995
after the High Council of State was disbanded and Algeria carried out its first multiparty
presidential election. 212 Zeroual’s tenure (1995–1999) coincided with some of the most
204
206
Martin Stone, “7: Islamism and the Growth of the FIS,” in The Agony of Algeria (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1997), 167.
207
History.com, Encyclopædia Britannica, “Algeria: History: Independent Algeria: Civil War: The
Islamists Versus the Army,” 2009, http://www.history.com/topics/algeria
208
John Ruedy, “Chapter 9: Insurgency and the Pursuit of Democracy,” in Modern Algeria: The Origins
and Development of a Nation, 2nd ed. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2005), 258.
209
Martin Stone, “6: The Political Landscape,” in The Agony of Algeria (New York: Columbia University
Press, 1997), 133–134.
210
Martin Stone, “5: The Post-Chadli Crisis,” in The Agony of Algeria (New York: Columbia University
Press, 1997), 103.
211
Michael Slackman, “But Bygones Can’t Be Bygones if the Pain is Raw,” New York Times, 5 October
2005, http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/05/international/africa/05letter.html?_r=1&ref=abdelazizbouteflika
212
Algeria.com, “Liamine Zeroual,” Gale Encyclopedia of the Mideast and North Africa, No date,
http://www.answers.com/topic/liamine-z-roual
205
33
extreme violence, perpetrated by not only the GIA and other Islamist groups but also
civilian vigilante organizations armed by the government. 213 Zeroual’s failed attempts to
negotiate a peace settlement caused him to lose favor with the military, and in 1998 he
announced his intention to step down from office before the conclusion of his term in
2000. 214
Peace Measures
Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who served as foreign minister in the
Boumédienne government during the 1960s and 1970s, was the
choice of the military and the two main political parties in the
coalition government in the 1999 presidential election. 215 He was
the easy victor after all his opponents pulled out of the race on
the eve of the election, citing concerns about electoral fraud. 216
A few months after the 1999 election, Bouteflika put a proposed
Law on Civil Harmony on the ballot for Algerian voters, an act
that granted freedom from prosecution to any combatants in the
ongoing violence who had not “killed, raped, caused permanent
disability, or placed bombs in public places.” 217, 218, 219 The law’s
passage in the referendum helped reduce the number of rebels
fighting by several thousand. Thereafter, the fighting began to
die down significantly, although one group, Al Qaeda in the
Land of Islamic Maghreb (formerly known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and
Combat), has continued to carry out sporadic suicide bombings and other terrorist
attacks. 220
While the fighting with Islamist groups was beginning to wind down, violent unrest
broke out in the Kabylia region, where the death of a Berber teenager in police custody
sparked protests in the spring of 2001. 221, 222 In subsequent negotiations with Berber
213
New York Times, “Algeria Leader to Step Down, Calling for Election,” 12 September 1998,
http://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/12/world/algeria-leader-to-step-down-calling-for-election.html
215
Heba Saleh, “World: Middle East Algeria Launches Election Campaign,” BBC News, 25 March 1999,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/303428.stm
216
John F. Burns, “With a Field Reduced to One, Algerians Vote,” New York Times, 16 April 1999,
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D07E6DE123BF935A25757C0A96F958260
217
218
John F. Burns, “In Assault on Islamic Rebels, a Bid to End Algeria’s Civil War,” New York Times, 27
January 2000, http://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/27/world/in-assault-on-islamic-rebels-a-bid-to-endalgeria-s-civil-war.html?ref=abdelazizbouteflika
219
MideastInfo.com, “Algeria,” in Amnesty International Report 2001 (Amnesty International, 2001),
http://www.mideastinfo.com/documents/Amnesty/algeria.pdf
220
BBC News, “Algeria Country Profile,” 12 January 2011,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/country_profiles/790556.stm
221
222
New York Times, “Algeria Moves Toward a Better Relationship With the Berbers,” 5 October 2001,
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/05/world/algeria-moves-toward-a-better-relationship-with-theberbers.html?ref=abdelazizbouteflika
214
34
leaders, Tamazight, the Berber language, was recognized as a national language of
Algeria, and compensation was offered to the families of Berber victims who died in
fighting with governmental security forces. 223, 224
Recent Events
Bouteflika was re-elected president in 2004 and
2009 in elections hounded by charges of biased
media coverage and voting irregularities. 225
Constitutional amendments in 2008 eliminated
presidential term limits in order for Bouteflika to
run in 2009. In the years between Bouteflika’s
two successful re-elections, he once again
scheduled an amnesty referendum for Algerian
voters. The 2005 Charter for Peace and National
Reconciliation was much broader than the 1999
Law on Civil Harmony. It granted amnesty to all involved during the “black years”
fighting (as the conflict is sometimes called) with the exception of those who carried out
rape, mass murders, or bombings in public places. 226 Despite the charter’s approval by a
suspiciously high 97% of the Algerian voters, critics have argued that it has made it
impossible to come to terms with the violence during the civil war. In essence it makes
the fates of the roughly 10,000 “disappeared” Algerians impossible to trace. 227, 228 A
subsequent decree criminalized any discussion of the disappearances that serves to
“undermine the good reputation of [state] agents who honorably served the country or to
tarnish the image of Algeria internationally.” The decree has been roundly criticized by
international human rights organizations for attempting to curtail public discussion of the
Algerian civil war. 229
223
New York Times, “Algeria Seeks Peace With Berber Ethnic Minority,” 2 June 2003,
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/02/world/algeria-seeks-peace-with-berber-ethnicminority.html?ref=abdelazizbouteflika
224
Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, U.S. Department of State, “Background Note: Algeria,” 2 August 2010,
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/8005.htm#history
225
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/8005.htm#history
226
International Foundation for Election Systems, “World/Election Watch: Algeria,” CNN.com, 2007,
http://edition.cnn.com/WORLD/election.watch/africa/algeria3.html
227
Rachid Tlemçani, “Algeria Under Beouteflika: Civil Strife and Reconciliation” (Washington, DC:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, February 2008), 7–9.
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/cmec7_tlemcani_algeria_final.pdf
228
Martin Slackman, “But Bygones Can’t Be Bygones If the Pain Is Raw,” New York Times, 5 October
2005, http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/05/international/africa/05letter.html
229
Rachid Tlemçani, “Algeria Under Beouteflika: Civil Strife and Reconciliation,” (Washington, DC:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, February 2008), 10.
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/cmec7_tlemcani_algeria_final.pdf
35
1. Since ancient times, Algeria has been an independent identity.
False
Algeria only assumed an independent identity during the Ottoman era.
2. The original human inhabitants of present-day Algeria were Berbers.
True
While the origins of the Berbers are speculative, they were the first humans to settle in
the area.
3. During the Roman Empire, wheat and olives cultivated in Algeria were exported
to Europe.
True
Algeria became a granary, or bread basket, of the empire.
4. Islam became Algeria’s dominant religion in the 5th century.
False
Islam spread into North Africa during the 7th century. By 711, the entire region was
under the control of the Umayyad caliphate.
5. The introduction of Islam “Arabized” the native Berber population.
False
The government’s post-independence “Arabization” policies had some success spreading
Arabic language and culture, but in many areas Berber people maintain their own
languages and traditions.
36
Chapter 3 Economy
Introduction
Algeria’s current economic atmosphere seems in
many ways ideal. The country has a consistent
balance-of-trade surplus, has reduced its public
and external debt significantly, has shown a
steady, year-to-year increase in its gross domestic
product (GDP), and sits upon a large cushion of
foreign currency reserves generated by its
hydrocarbon (mostly oil and gas) exports.
Inflation has remained low, and the country
generally avoided the painful effects of the 2008–
2009 credit crisis that pushed many of the world’s largest economies into negative
growth.
However, cracks in Algeria’s economy are evident when looking beyond the promising
statistics. Attempts to diversify Algeria’s industrial sector beyond hydrocarbon
production have yielded spotty results. The hydrocarbon industry’s relatively limited
labor needs, combined with a lack of labor-intensive alternative industries, have
contributed to chronically high national unemployment. Unemployment is especially high
among the country’s high percentage of young people. Many of Algeria’s larger
businesses remain inefficiently-run, state-owned enterprises due to bureaucratic
resistance stalling privatization efforts. An emphasis on private sector development in the
early 2000s has since shifted toward expenditures on large-scale infrastructure and social
programs. Without the development of new businesses to take advantage of these
programs, the government investments are not as likely to produce the desired results. 230
230
International Monetary Fund, “Algeria Should Reduce Reliance on Oil, Create More Jobs, Says IMF,”
26 January 2011, http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2011/int012611a.htm
37
Agriculture
Algeria’s agricultural sector (including livestock
production, fishing, and wood products) generates
only about 8% of the gross domestic product. 231,
232
Although this economic sector may not
produce a large percentage of Algeria’s economic
output, it contributes significantly to employment;
Agriculture employs an estimated 14–21% of the
total labor force. 233, 234
Only a little more than 3% of Algeria’s land is
suitable for agricultural crops, and much of its agricultural cultivation occurs on the
narrow coastal plains. 235, 236 Rainfall variability has stifled attempts to expand farmlands
to steppe and desert areas. 237 Less than 7% of Algeria’s arable land is irrigated, making
average annual rainfall totals a key determinant in whether land can be developed for
crop production. 238 The primary food crops are wheat, barley, and potatoes, while dates
are the most significant cash crop (food grown mostly for export). 239, 240 Algeria does not
produce enough grains to meet domestic needs and each year must import a substantial
amount of wheat and, to a lesser extent, maize (corn). 241 Because of the nation’s fickle
rainfall patterns, these import amounts can vary significantly year to year. In 2008, when
231
Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, “Country Profile: Algeria: Economy,” February 2007,
11, http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Algeria.pdf
232
Central Intelligence Agency, “Algeria,” in The World Factbook, 20 January 2011,
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ag.html
233
234
K. Benmouffok, Global Policy Network, “The Rise of Employment in Algeria: What Are the Trends?”
November 2006, www.gpn.org/data/algeria/algeria-analysis-en.doc
235
TradingEconomics.com, World Bank, “Arable Land (% of Land Area) in Algeria,” 2010,
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/algeria/arable-land-percent-of-land-area-wb-data.html
236
237
11–12, http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Algeria.pdf
238
Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN, “Country Profile: Food Security Indicators: Algeria,”
October 2010, 3,
http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/ess/documents/food_security_statistics/country_profiles/eng/Algeri
a_E.pdf
239
240
FAOSTAT, Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN, “Exports: Commodities by Country:
Algeria: 2008,” n.d., http://faostat.fao.org/desktopdefault.aspx?pageid=342&lang=en&country=4
241
FAOSTAT, Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN, “Exports: Commodities by Country:
Algeria: 2008,” n.d., http://faostat.fao.org/desktopdefault.aspx?pageid=342&lang=en&country=4
38
drought conditions cut wheat production nearly in half compared to 2007, Algeria was
the world’s second-largest importer of wheat, trailing Japan. 242, 243
Many of Algeria’s grazing lands are found in the steppes and High Plateaus, which are
generally too dry for crop production. 244 Sheep, cattle, and chickens provide meat and
dairy products that comprise five of Algeria’s nine most valuable agricultural
commodities. (Potatoes, grapes, dates, and wheat are the other four.) 245
Despite Algeria’s extensive Mediterranean coastline, the annual fish catch is dwarfed by
those of neighboring Morocco and Tunisia. Although fish consumption has been
increasing in Algeria, demand has been somewhat tempered by high prices due to
overfishing. 246
Algeria’s limited forest lands are not a major source of economic revenue, although both
cork oaks and Aleppo pines are harvested. 247 The city of Jijel on the northeastern coast is
the center of Algeria’s cork production and is surrounded by cork oak plantations. 248
Industry
In a typical year a little over 61% of Algeria’s
GDP flows from the industrial sector, and
hydrocarbons are responsible for roughly half this
percentage. 249 (In 2009, the industrial sector’s
contribution to GDP dropped to 55%, attributable
to the slumping demand for oil and gas during the
depth of the worldwide recession.) 250 Algeria has
been slow to privatize many of its state-owned
enterprises (SOEs), which largely remain
inefficient and noncompetitive in world
242
FAOSTAT, Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN, “Imports: Countries by Commodity: Wheat:
2008,” n.d., http://faostat.fao.org/desktopdefault.aspx?pageid=342&lang=en&country=4
243
Reuters, “Update 1—Algeria’s Wheat Imports Fall 50 Pct in Q1—Paper,” 4 May 2009,
http://af.reuters.com/article/idAFL427368720090504
244
245
FAOSTAT, Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN, “Production: Commodities by Country:
Algeria: 2008,” n.d., http://faostat.fao.org/site/339/default.aspx
246
Mohand Ouali, “Algeria Aims to Curb Fish Exports, Magharebia, 5 January 2011,
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/01/05/feature-02
247
248
Algeria.com, “Jijel—A Secluded Getaway,” n.d., http://www.algeria.com/blog/jijel-a-secluded-getaway
249
250
The World Bank, “Data: Industry, Value Added (% of GDP), 2011,
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NV.IND.TOTL.ZS
39
markets. 251 Manufacturing has been steadily declining from nearly 15% of GDP in 1988
to less than 5% in only 20 years. 252 Among the most significant manufacturing segments
in Algeria are food processing, textiles, metals, chemicals, and construction materials. 253
Energy Resources
The hydrocarbons sector is the backbone of Algeria’s economy, providing 60% of its
budget revenues, almost 30% of its GDP, and more than 97% of its export receipts in
2008. 254 Algeria’s hydrocarbons have also led to the development of petrochemical plants
that produce ammonia and chemical fertilizers. The state-owned company Sonatrach
oversees the exploration, transport, and marketing of Algeria’s oil and gas products. It is
the largest Algerian company. 255
Algeria’s oil reserves are the third-largest in Africa. The largest oil fields are in basins in
the Sahara near the Libyan border. Algeria’s total annual oil production (crude plus
refined products) steadily rose from 1999 to 2008, but declined slightly in 2009 partly as
a result of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) quota cuts. 256, 257 The
nation has an extensive network of oil pipelines that connects the Saharan oil fields with
the port cities of Arzew, Bejaïa, and Skikda in Algeria and La Skhira in Tunisia. Skikda
is also the site of Algeria’s largest refinery, with twice the capacity of the nation’s other
three refineries combined. 258
Much of Algeria’s gas is in a field near Hassi R’Mel, not far from the famed Saharan
oasis town of Ghardaïa. Trans-Mediterranean gas pipelines run from Hassi R’Mel to Italy
and Spain via Tunisia and Morocco, respectively. These pipelines carry about two-thirds
of Algeria’s natural gas exports to market, with the remainder transported as liquefied
natural gas (LNG) on tankers. In recent decades Algeria has increased its use of natural
gas to generate electricity. In 2008, nearly 60% of its total energy use came from natural
gas. 259
251
252
World Bank, “Algeria at a Glance,” 9 December 2009, http://devdata.worldbank.org/AAG/dza_aag.pdf
253
Emporiki Bank, “Country Trading Profiles: Algeria,” January 2011,
http://www.emporikitrade.com/uk/countries-trading-profiles/algeria/presentation
254
U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Country Analysis Brief: Algeria,” June 2010,
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Algeria/Background.html
255
World Oil News Center, “ALGESCO Opens New Service Center in Algeria,” 11 April 2010,
http://www.worldoil.com/ALGESCO_opens_new_service_center_in_Algeria.html
256
U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Algeria Energy Profile,” 14 July 2010,
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/country/country_energy_data.cfm?fips=AG#
257
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Algeria/Oil.html
258
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Algeria/Profile.html
259
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Algeria/NaturalGas.html
40
Natural Resources
Algeria’s mineral resources are relatively
substantial and diverse. Among the metals mined
are gold, silver, and iron ore. Algeria was once a
major producer of mercury, but after claims of
technical problems, all mining for cinnabar
(mercury’s primary ore) ceased in 2003. 260, 261
Most of Algeria’s iron ore is mined in the
northeast near the Tunisian border and transported
to the country’s primary steel plant at Annaba. 262,
263
Lead and zinc mining ceased in 2007, although plans are in the works for a Chineseowned joint venture to reopen one of the closed mines. 264 A large lead-zinc deposit
discovered near Bejaïa, potentially one of the world’s largest, has gone through final
feasibility studies; mining of this deposit may begin within the next 5 to 6 years. 265
Numerous industrial minerals are also extracted in Algeria, including barite, bentonite
and other clays, stone, gravel, gypsum, phosphate, quartz, pozzolan, salt, and sand. 266
Several of these minerals are ingredients in the production of cement, which is also
produced in northern Algeria. 267
260
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Primary Mercury Mining: Historical and Current Trends,” 24
July 2007, 5, http://www.epa.gov/hg/stocks/Primary Mercury Mining_7.23.07_FINAL.pdf
261
Howard Masters, “Mercury,” Minor Metals Trade Association, 23 August 2006,
http://www.mmta.co.uk/uploaded_files/MercuryMJ.pdf
262
Mowafa Taib, “The Mineral Industry of Algeria,” in 2008 Minerals Yearbook, U.S. Geological Survey,
U.S. Department of the Interior, July 2010, 8–9,
http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/country/2008/myb3-2008-ag.pdf
263
U.S. Geological Survey, “Algeria [minerals map],” n.d.,
http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/country/maps/92019.gif
264
U.S. Department of the Interior, July 2010, 3–5,
http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/country/2008/myb3-2008-ag.pdf
265
Terramin Australia Limited, “Positive DFS for Tala Hamza Project,” 12 October 2010,
http://www.infomine.com/index/pr/Pa937481.PDF
266
U.S. Department of the Interior, July 2010, 1, http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/country/2008/myb32008-ag.pdf
267
U.S. Department of the Interior, July 2010, 3, http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/country/2008/myb32008-ag.pdf
41
Trade
Algeria annually exports more than it imports, and
the size of its trade surplus depends mostly upon
worldwide demand for oil and gas. 268 In 2009, oil
and gas products generated over 98% of Algeria’s
total export revenues from goods, a trend similar
to previous years. 269 Countries of the European
Union received much of the gas, while the United
States was the largest importer of Algerian oil. 270,
271
Overall, the United States, Italy, Spain, France,
and the Netherlands were the leading export
markets for Algerian goods in 2009, combining for over 63% of total exports. 272 Beyond
hydrocarbons, Algeria’s most important exports were ammonia, remelted scrap iron or
steel ingots, and calcium phosphates, but the values of these exports were miniscule in
comparison to the hydrocarbon sector. 273
Algeria’s imports cover a broad selection of items, including food (led by wheat and
milk), trucks, cars, steel products, pharmaceuticals, jet engines, and numerous other
consumer and capital goods. 274, 275 France, China, Italy, Spain, and Germany were the
leading exporters of goods to Algeria in 2009. Algeria was the European Union’s 13thlargest trading partner (imports and exports combined) in 2009, exceeding all countries in
Africa and the Middle East. 276
268
The Economist, “Algeria: Country Fact Sheet,” 22 October 2008,
http://www.economist.com/node/12406779
269
International Trade Centre/World Trade Organization, “Trade Performance HS: Exports and Imports of
Algeria—27 Mineral Fuels, Oils, Distillation Products, Etc. (2009, in USD Thousands),” 2010,
http://www.intracen.org/appli1/TradeCom/TP_TP_CI_HS4.aspx?IN=27&RP=012&YR=2009&IL=27%20
Mineral fuels, oils, distillation products, etc&TY=T
270
271
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Algeria/NaturalGas.html
272
International Trade Centre/World Trade Organization, “Trade Performance HS: Exports and Imports of
Algeria—00 All Industries (2009, in USD Thousands),” 2010,
http://www.intracen.org/appli1/TradeCom/TP_TP_CI_P.aspx?IN=00&RP=012&YR=2009&IL=00%20%2
0All%20industries&TY=T
273
United Nations Statistics Division, “Country Pages: Algeria,” in 2009 International Trade Statistics
Yearbook, 16 December 2010, http://comtrade.un.org/pb/CountryPagesNew.aspx?y=2009
274
United Nations Statistics Division, “Country Pages: Algeria,” in 2009 International Trade Statistics
Yearbook, 16 December 2010, http://comtrade.un.org/pb/CountryPagesNew.aspx?y=2009
275
International Trade Centre/World Trade Organization, “Trade Performance HS: Imports of Algeria
(2009, in USD Thousands),” 2010,
http://www.intracen.org/appli1/TradeCom/TP_IP_CI.aspx?RP=012&YR=2009
276
European Commission, “Algeria: EU Bilateral Trade and Trade With the World,” 18 January 2011,
http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2006/september/tradoc_113343.pdf
42
Tourism
Algeria’s tourism industry plays a relatively
insignificant part in the economy. Security,
although improved in recent years, remains a
concern that discourages many potential
international visitors. The U.S. State Department
continues to warn about the risk of terrorist
attacks in Algeria and recommends that “U.S.
citizens avoid overland travel in Algeria.” 277
Currently, Algeria attracts nearly 2 million
visitors each year, but roughly 70% are Algerian expatriate nationals who are returning
for family visits. 278, 279 In addition to security concerns, the lack of tourism
infrastructure—in particular, a shortage of international-standard hotel rooms—has been
a problem in attracting visitors to Algeria. The Algerian Ministry of Tourism is trying to
address this problem by implementing a program directed at increasing hotel rooms by
10% by 2014, raising the nation’s total capacity to 75,000 rooms. 280 There are some
preliminary signs that Algeria’s attempts to increase its tourism base are helping. In 2001,
tourism contributed only 1.7% of Algeria’s GDP, but that figure had risen to 6.4% by
2008. 281
277
U.S. Department of State, “Travel Warning, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs:
Algeria,” 2 April 2010, http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_929.html
278
Executive Magazine, “Algeria – Enticing Tourists,” March 2009, http://www.executivemagazine.com/getarticle.php?article=11637
279
United Nations World Tourism Organization, “Regional Results: Africa,” in UNWTO Tourism
Highlights, 2010 Edition, 2010, 9,
http://www.unwto.org/facts/eng/pdf/highlights/UNWTO_Highlights10_en_HR.pdf
280
TTG Middle East and North Africa, “Update—Algeria and Libya,” 1 June 2010,
http://www.ttgmena.com/enews/2010-06-01_E-news/pages/Story_11.html
281
Executive Magazine, “Algeria—Enticing Tourists,” March 2009, http://www.executivemagazine.com/getarticle.php?article=11637
43
Banking and Currency
The dinar (symbol: DZD) is Algeria’s official currency. Its name
traces to the denarius, a coin used during the period of the
Roman Empire. 282 Its exchange rate floats within a range based
on a composite of currencies. Since 2004, the dinar’s value has
fluctuated between 65 and 75 DZD to the U.S. dollar (USD). 283,
284
Algeria’s banking system consists of 16 privately owned and 6
state-owned commercial banks. 285 Despite the larger number of
private banks, all of which are foreign-owned subsidiaries, the
state-owned banks control between 80 and 90% of all banking
assets. 286 The public banks also hold a relatively high percentage
of defaulted or near-defaulted non-performing loans (NPLs)—
more than twice the percentage of NPLs held by private
banks. 287 Most of the public banks’ NPLs had been made to unprofitable state-owned
enterprises (SOEs). 288 Although the Algerian government announced its intent to sell its
majority or minority stakes in the public banks, the credit crisis of 2008 and 2009
effectively put such plans on hold. 289
Although the market share of the private banks is small compared to the state-owned
banks, it has been steadily increasing in recent years. 290 Three of the private banks also
provide shari’a-compliant banking activities consistent with Islamic law, which prohibits
payment or acceptance of interest fees for loans. 291 In August 2009, the Algerian
government banned all consumer loans except home mortgages. 292 Some thought this
282
GoCurrency.com, “What is the Algerian Dinar (DZD)?” 2011,
http://www.gocurrency.com/countries/algeria.htm
283
African Development Bank Group, “Algeria,” in African Fixed Income and Derivatives Guidebook,”
May 2010, 5, http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Publications/AfDB-Guidebook-ENweb.pdf
284
Fx-rate.com, “Dollar to Dinar Exchange Rate Chart,” January 2011, http://fx-rate.net/USD/DZD/
285
Banque d’Algerie, “Banques et Etablissements Financiers,” 3 January 2009, http://www.bank-ofalgeria.dz/banque.htm#BANQUES
286
Deutsche Bank Research, “Algeria: Mediterranean State With a Wealth of Natural Resources,” 3 April
2008, 2, http://www.dbresearch.de/PROD/DBR_INTERNET_DE-PROD/PROD0000000000223102.pdf
287
Oxford Business Group, “Banking Analysis: Strong Potential,” in The Report: Algeria 2010 (London:
Oxford Business Group, 2010), 101.
288
Deutsche Bank Research, “Algeria: Mediterranean State With a Wealth of Natural Resources,” 3 April
2008, 2, http://www.dbresearch.de/PROD/DBR_INTERNET_DE-PROD/PROD0000000000223102.pdf
289
Executive Magazine, “Algeria—Banking,” January 2008, http://www.executivemagazine.com/getarticle.php?article=10228
290
Oxford Business Group, “Banking Analysis: Strong Potential,” in The Report: Algeria 2010 (London:
291
Walid Ramzi, “Islamic Banking Gains Popularity in Algeria,” Magharebia, 12 November 2010,
292
Samir Turk, “Algeria to Slow Imports, Seeks to Reduce Credit Risk With New Finance Law Measures,”
The North Africa Journal, 6 August 2009, http://www.northafrica.com/naj_economy/economy_trade/1augseven09.html
44
move was a governmental reaction to a shrinking trade surplus, as hydrocarbon revenues
slumped and demand for foreign goods continued to rise. The consumer credit ban fell
hardest on the nation’s private banks, which provided about three-quarters of consumer
loans. 293, 294
Investment
Although Algeria in the past has encouraged
foreign investment in its economy, the nation
currently is following a path of “economic
nationalism” in which measures have been
enacted to give Algerian investors preferential
treatment. Among these measures are a
requirement that foreign companies be majorityowned by Algerian nationals if they are to receive
the same privileges as domestic businesses, and
increased restrictions on foreign firms bidding
against Algerian companies on state contracts. 295
There are several reasons for the change in investment policy. Algeria finds itself with
large reserves of cash and a greatly reduced debt load after several years of high oil and
gas revenues, thus diminishing the immediate need for foreign investors’ money. 296 In
addition, earlier privatizations to foreign firms have become politically charged, most
notably when one of Algeria’s leading cement producers, owned by an Egyptian
company, was sold to a French conglomerate. 297 In Algeria, where colonial scars run
deep, the sale of former state-owned properties to French-controlled companies will
inevitably raise hackles. Finally, Algeria’s relatively lenient policy toward the transfer of
Algerian-based profits to the country of company ownership, rather than reinvestment in
the Algerian operations, triggered a backlash that ultimately resulted in a change in the
country’s tax code. 298
293
Global Arab Network, “Algeria Bans Consumer Loans to Limit Its Imports,” 2 August 2009,
http://www.english.globalarabnetwork.com/200908022017/Economics/algeria-bans-consumer-loans-tolimit-its-imports.html
294
AllBusiness.com, APS Review Downstream Trends, “Algeria—The Economic Base,” 9 February 2009,
http://www.allbusiness.com/banking-finance/banking-finance-overview/11783089-1.html
295
Abdel Rahman Shalaby, Reuters, “Algeria Announces New Law Restricting Foreign Investment,” AlMasry Al-Youm, 12 July 2010, http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/news/algeria-announces-new-lawrestricting-foreign-investment
296
Lamine Chihki, Reuters, “Feature—How Algeria Fell Out of Love With Foreign Investment,” 15 June
2010, http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/06/15/algeria-investment-idUSLDE65E17Q20100615
297
Lamine Chihki, Reuters, “Feature—How Algeria Fell Out of Love With Foreign Investment,” 15 June
2010, http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/06/15/algeria-investment-idUSLDE65E17Q20100615
298
Nadia Hachelef, “Algeria: Changing the Rules of the Foreign Investment Game,” Les Afriques, 9
September 2008, http://www.lesafriques.com/en/algeria/algeria-changing-the-rules-of-the-foreigninvestment-game.html?Itemid=35?articleid=0174
45
One sector of the economy in which foreign investment has been actively encouraged is
tourism. 299 As noted earlier, growth of Algerian tourism has been hampered by a lack of
international-standard hotel rooms. Foreign hotel-industry companies have been actively
building or planning new hotels in all of Algeria’s larger cities. 300
Transportation
Until recently, Algeria’s transportation system
had been mostly neglected since the colonial era.
Roads were poorly maintained, railways were
served by aging equipment, and most ports had
not received sufficient investment to fully revamp
to modern container handling standards. 301
Although these and other problems still exist,
Algeria has recently embarked on major programs
to improve its overall transportation
infrastructure.
Foremost among the improvements to its roads is the East–West Highway, which has
been called the world’s largest public works project. 302 Stretching from the Tunisian
border on the east to the Moroccan border on the west, the six-lane East–West Highway
will connect many of the largest cities in the northern part of the country, including
Annaba, Constantine, Sétif, Algiers, and Oran. The highway, budgeted at USD 11.2
billion, is financed completely by the Algerian government. 303 Originally scheduled to be
completed in 2010, the project has been marred by delays, charges of corruption, and
Algerian dissatisfaction with the Chinese and Japanese firms contracted to build two
large segments of the highway. 304, 305
Numerous rail projects are also in the works. These include numerous lines linking the
larger cities of the High Plateaus region, and a 170-km, electrified, double-rail system
299
North Africa Times, “Natural Attractions in Algeria,” 1 June 2008,
http://www.alarabonline.org/previouspages/North%20Africa%20Times/2008/06/01-06/NAT180106.pdf
300
R. R. Miller, Tourism ROI, “US Commercial Service—Doing Business in Algeria—Tourism,” 19
January 2010, http://www.tourismroi.com/InteriorTemplate.aspx?id=34690
301
15–16, http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Algeria.pdf
301
302
Roadtraffic-technology.com, “East-West Highway, Algeria,” n.d., http://www.roadtraffictechnology.com/projects/eastwesthighway/
303
Roadtraffic-technology.com, “East-West Highway, Algeria,” n.d., http://www.roadtraffictechnology.com/projects/eastwesthighway/
304
Michael Martin, “The East-West Highway, The Majalla, 17 December 2010,
http://www.majalla.com/en/international_investor/article217659.ece
305
Asahi.com, “Algeria Highway Project in Dispute,” 15 December 2010,
http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201012140303.html
46
east of Algiers. 306, 307, 308 Metropolitan rail systems are also being developed. The cities
of Algiers, Oran, and Constantine are slated to open light-rail systems by 2020, and
Algiers’ long-delayed metro subway system finally opened its first line in 2010. 309, 310
Currently, nearly 60% of Algeria’s container traffic goes through the Port of Algiers,
with most of the remainder split by Oran, Bejaïa, and Skikda. 311 A new deepwater port
that will connect to the East–West Highway system is being built at Djen Djen (between
Bejaïa and Skikda). It is expected that Djen Djen will ultimately be Algeria’s primary
container port. 312, 313 The new port is being developed in a joint venture between
Algeria’s state-owned port authority and Dubai Ports World. 314 Arzew, Algeria’s primary
port for hydrocarbons, is also being expanded in order to handle traffic related to a
petrochemical plant under construction there. 315
306
MENAFN Press, “FCC Wins Contract to Build Railway in Algeria,” 5 May 2010,
http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?storyid=1093328892
307
Dessau, “Dessau Obtains a $38.8M Rail Project in Algeria,” 2 February 2010,
http://www.dessau.com/en/news-and-media/press-releases/dessau-obtains-a-388m-rail-project-in-algeria
308
Oxford Business Group, “Transport Analysis: All Aboard,” in The Report: Algeria 2010 (London:
309
Dalila Henache, “Algiers Metro First Line Finally Opens After 27 Years of Delay,” Echorouk Online,
14 August 2010, ttp://www.echoroukonline.com/eng/algeria/10351-algiers-metro-first-line-finally-opensafter-27-years-of-delay.html
310
Railway-technology.com, “Light Rail Developments, Algeria,” n.d., http://www.railwaytechnology.com/projects/algerialightrail/
311
Embassy of People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria in Sofia, Bulgaria, “A Push to Develop All
Available Means,” 13 July 2010, http://www.algeria-embassy-sofia.org/transport-1223
312
DP World, “Algeria—Djen-Djen,” n.d.,
http://webapps.dpworld.com/portal/page/portal/DP_WORLD_WEBSITE/MarineTerminals/Locations/Middle-East-Europe-and-Africa/Africa-Overview/Algeria-Djen-Djen
313
Oxford Business Group, “Transport Analysis: Taking the Wheel,” in The Report: Algeria 2010
(London: Oxford Business Group, 2010), 162.
314
El Kadi Ihsane, “Abdelhaq Bourouai: ‘The Dubai Port Will Add Algeria to Its Global Network,’” Les
Afriques, 16 March 2009, http://www.lesafriques.com/en/algeria/abdelhaq-bourouai-the-dubai-port-willadd-algeria-to-its-global-network.html?Itemid=35?articleid=0235
315
Oxford Business Group, “Transport Overview: Maritime,” in The Report: Algeria 2010 (London:
47
Standard of Living
Algeria has a high unemployment rate (officially
9.9%, but other estimates place it much
higher). 316, 317 Younger would-be workers suffer
the highest unemployment rate and have been the
target of social programs that offer monthly grants
to the unemployed in exchange for their work on
socially beneficial governmental projects. 318 But
unemployment is just one of several
socioeconomic problems that Algeria faces.
Housing shortages, inadequate health care and
educational services, glaring income disparities, and governmental corruption are
ongoing concerns. When events such as perceived inequities in the distribution of public
housing or price spikes in food and other items occur, dissatisfaction among segments of
the Algerian public can quickly escalate into street protests and riots. Such was the case
in the October Riots of 1988 and, more recently, in the food-price protests of January
2011. 319, 320
Organizations
Algeria is a member state of several organizations
that promote economic ties and represent common
economic interests. Undoubtedly the most
important of these is the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), whose
members export a significant amount of the
world’s crude oil. OPEC has frequently been
labeled a cartel that affects world oil prices by
setting production quotas among its members.
Although many of its members are also large
producers of natural gas, OPEC does not set natural gas production quotas. In recent
years, Russia, Qatar, and Algeria—three of the world’s largest natural gas exporters—
have discussed establishing a cartel organization similar to OPEC for natural gas. 321, 322
316
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/8005.htm
317
318
Walid Ramzi, “Algeria Takes New Steps to Tackle Youth Unemployment,” 22 October 2009,
319
Benjamin Stora, “16. The Crisis of October 1988 and Its Consequences,” in Algeria 1830–2000: A Short
320
Hugh Roberts, “Algeria’s National ‘Protesta,’” Foreign Policy, 10 January 2011,
http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/01/09/algeria_s_national_protesta
321
Agence France-Presse, “Russia, Algeria Meet as Gas OPEC Plan Gains Ground,” 19 February 2008,
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gdmseuavZ2xYEnR4yysXjab5Zt9w
322
Central Intelligence Agency, “Country Comparison: Natural Gas—Exports,” in The World Factbook, 20
January 2011, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2183rank.html
48
Algeria formally proposed instituting such natural gas supply constraints at the 2010
meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF). The intent is to bolster market
prices on the spot market (i.e., surplus gas that is sold for immediate delivery). 323 No
such action was approved by the GECF members.
323
Guy Chazan, “Natural-Gas Cuts Likely Off the Cartel Table,” Wall Street Journal, 17 April 2010,
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304180804575187993517477572.html
49
1. Algeria’s dominant source of national revenue comes from hydrocarbons.
True
The hydrocarbons sector is the backbone of Algeria’s economy, providing the nation with
60% of its budget revenues, almost 30% of its GDP, and more than 97% of its export
receipts in 2008.
2. Algeria grows enough grains to meet its domestic needs.
False
Algeria does not produce enough grains to meet domestic needs and must import a
substantial amount of wheat and, to a lesser extent, maize (corn) each year.
3. Algeria’s industrial sector is largely comprised of state-owned businesses.
True
Algeria has been slow to privatize many of its state-owned enterprises, which largely
remain inefficient and non-competitive in world markets.
4. Algeria’s oil reserves are the third largest in Africa.
True
The largest Algerian oil fields are in basins located in the Sahara, near the Libyan border.
Libya and Nigeria are the only African countries with larger oil reserves than Algeria.
5. Algeria is a major producer of mercury.
False
In the past Algeria was a large producer of mercury, but production ceased in 2003
following claims of technical problems.
50
Chapter 4 Society
Introduction
Many of the tensions in Algerian society reflect
the changes that have swept the nation since
winning independence from France in 1962. The
Algerian government embraced Islam and Arabic
language and culture early on as a way to
establish a cohesive Algerian identity after 130
years of French domination. 324 This policy has
increasingly alienated non-Arabic-speaking
Algerians (i.e, the Berbers), while contributing to
Islamic fervor among younger generations. 325
Government economic policies increasingly spurred an exodus from the rural countryside
to the cities, leading to urban housing shortages. 326 Unemployment began to soar due to
declines in agriculture, traditionally the nation’s primary employment sector. New, urban,
state-run industries could not generate sufficient jobs to support the growing population.
Unemployed Algerian youths, ill-prepared by the educational system for the few
available jobs and generally unable to emigrate to France or other countries, became
disaffected. Some took to street crime, while others gravitated to radical Islam. 327, 328
These societal issues remain pertinent as Algeria struggles to balance traditional Islamic
values with the desires of its populace for equality and greater economic opportunities. 329
324
Tony Zurlo, “5. The Impacts of the Arabs and Islam: Arabization,” in Algeria (Detroit: Lucent Books,
13 May 2006), 66–69.
325
Michael Slackman, “In Algeria, A Tug of War For Young Minds,” New York Times, 23 June 2008,
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/23/world/africa/23iht-23algeria.13901690.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
326
Mustafa M. Achoui, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, “The Algerian Family: Change
and Solidarity,” n.d., 5, http://faculty.kfupm.edu.sa/MGM/mustafai/Temp/Algerian%20familyFINAL.doc
327
Tony Zurlo, “6. Society Today,” in Algeria (Detroit: Lucent Books, 13 May 2006), 70–73.
328
329
Tony Zurlo, “6. Society Today,” in Algeria (Detroit: Lucent Books, 13 May 2006), 70.
51
Ethnic and Linguistic Groups
Roughly 80% of Algerians are classified as Arabs, while the
remaining 20% are Berbers. Today, the distinctions between
these two groups are mostly cultural and linguistic. Both groups
generally trace their ancestry to indigenous Berber clans that
inhabited modern-day Algeria before the arrival of Arabs in the
seventh century C.E. 330, 331
Algerian Arabs primarily live in the northern part of the country
and speak an Algerian dialect of Arabic as their first language. 332
It differs significantly from written Arabic or from Modern
Standard Arabic, which is the language of instruction in
schools. 333 A Bedouin dialect of Arabic (Algerian Saharan
Arabic) is spoken by a much smaller number of people in the
Saharan part of Algeria. 334, 335
Algeria’s Berbers comprise four main groups. The largest of these is the Kabyles, who
mostly inhabit the mountainous region east of Algiers in the Great Kabylie and Little
Kabylie ranges. Other Berber groups are the Chaouia of the Aurès Mountains of northeast
Algeria, the Mzab of the northern Sahara, and the Tuareg of the southeastern Sahara. 336
Each group speaks a separate but similar language evolved from the Berber branch of the
Afro-Asiatic language family. Arabic is from the separate Semitic branch of the AfroAsiatic language family. 337, 338
French, the colonial language, is still widespread in the Algerian business world despite
decades of government policies discouraging French literacy and banning it as a language
of instruction. After independence, the Algerian government sought to cut ties with the
colonial era by pursuing Arabization, a policy that embraced Arabic culture and
330
David Levinson, Ethnic Groups Worldwide: A Ready Reference Handbook, (Phoenix: Oryx Press,
1998), 108.
331
James Ciment, “4. Secular Forces,” in Algeria: The Fundamentalist Challenge (New York: Facts on
File, 1997), 118.
332
David Levinson, Ethnic Groups Worldwide: A Ready Reference Handbook, (Phoenix: Oryx Press,
1998), 108.
333
Encyclopædia Britannica Online, “Algeria: People: Languages,” 2011,
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/15001/Algeria/46512/Languages?anchor=ref846498
334
Kwintessential, “Algeria—Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette,” n.d.,
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/algeria.html
335
M. Paul Lewis, ed., “Languages of Algeria,” in Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th ed. (Dallas:
SIL International, 2009), http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=dz
336
David Levinson, in Ethnic Groups Worldwide: A Ready Reference Handbook, (Phoenix: Oryx Press,
1998), 108.
337
M. Paul Lewis, ed., “Languages of Algeria,” in Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th ed., (Dallas:
SIL International, 2009), http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=dz
338
H. Ekkehard Wolff, Encyclopædia Britannica Online, “Amazigh Languages,” 2011,
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/61496/Amazigh-languages?anchor=ref1023745
52
language. This policy has long been a source of tension in Berber-majority regions. 339
Some observers believe that the policy also increased Islamic radicalization among
Algerian youth, by bringing in Arabic instructors from Egypt, Syria, and Iraq who held
extreme religious views. Following the decade-long civil war against Islamist groups, the
Algerian government has reintroduced French into the school curriculum. 340
Religion
Islam is the state religion of Algeria, and roughly
99% of the population is Sunni Muslim.341
Christians make up most of the remaining 1%, of
which Evangelical Christian denominations make
up the largest segment. The only Christian group
officially recognized by the Algerian government
is the Roman Catholic Church. 342 Most of
Algeria’s once sizable Jewish minority left after
independence; almost all who had remained left
the country following the civil war of the
1990s. 343
Although Berbers are Muslim, many Algerian Islamic fundamentalists view them as a
secular force. Most Berbers converted to Islam relatively quickly after the first invasions
in the seventh century, but they resisted Arab rule and the institution of Arab culture and
language. In modern-day Algeria, Berber political parties remain wary of Islamist
philosophy, viewing it as an element of the government’s Arabization policy that
contributes to the further marginalization of Berber culture and language. 344, 345
Many Islamic fundamentalists consider some Berber traditional religious practices
heretical, such as the cult of marabouts (holy men believed to be able to perform
miracles). 346 Maraboutism developed from the Sufi mystical orders that arrived in
339
Michael Brett and Elizabeth Fentress, “8. Berbers and Berberism,” in The Berbers (Oxford: Blackwell
Publishers, 1996), 274–275.
340
341
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, “Algeria,” in International
Religious Freedom Report 2010, 17 November 2010, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/148812.htm
342
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, “Algeria,” in International
Religious Freedom Report 2010, 17 November 2010, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/148812.htm
343
Michael Bard, Jewish Virtual Library, “The Jews of Algeria,” 2011,
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/algjews.html
344
File, 1997), 122.
345
Minorities at Risk Program, Center for International Development and Conflict Management, University
of Maryland, “Assessment for Berbers in Algeria,” 2011,
http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/mar/assessment.asp?groupId=61501
346
File, 1997), 121–122.
53
Algeria during the Arab migrations of the 11th century. 347 From the 13th to the 19th
centuries, Sufi tradition, as manifested through maraboutism, was the dominant form of
Islamic practice throughout Algeria. 348 Today, it is common in the isolated Berber
villages of Kabylia and the Aurès Mountains. 349
Gender Issues
Women’s legal status in Algeria is defined by the Family Code, a
highly restrictive document based on shari’a (Islamic law). The
1984 passage of the Family Code spurred Algeria’s first postindependence feminist movement. 350 Parts of the Family Code
were reformed in 2005, theoretically giving women greater rights
in marriage and divorce, but led to problems such as divorced
women not being able to afford housing. 351 Implementation of
the new provisions has been slow due to a lack of general
knowledge and understanding in many parts of the country. 352
Outside the home, women have begun to take an increasingly
prominent place in the workplace. They now represent a majority
of workers in fields such as education and health care. 353 Women
also make up 70% of Algeria’s lawyers and 60% of its judges,
and account for up to 60% of university students. 354 However, the increasing presence of
women in the working world does not reflect any tendency toward secularization. Studies
have shown that young Algerian women are more religious than in previous generations
and still likely to be wearing the hijab (head covering) while working alongside men. 355
347
James Ciment, “3. The Fundamentalists,” in Algeria: The Fundamentalist Challenge (New York: Facts
on File, 1997), 74–75
348
Rod Skilbeck, “Oscillating Traditions: Contending Orthodox and Deviant Principles Through Algerian
History,” Melbourne Historical Journal, 24 (1996): 49–66,
http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/osctrad.htm
349
Michael Brett and Elizabeth Fentress, “6. Pastoral Berbers: Nomads, Slaves and Saints,” in The Berbers
(Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1996), 27.
350
Doris H. Gray, “Women in Algeria Today and the Debate Over Family Law,” MERIA Journal, Vol. 13,
no. 1, March 2009, http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/03/gray.html
351
352
Achira Mammeri, “Algerian Women Cite Problems With Implementation of New Family Code,”
Magharebia, 15 February 2008,
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/reportage/2008/02/15/reportage-01
353
354
Michael Slackman, “A Quiet Revolution in Algeria: Gains By Women,” New York Times, 26 May 2007,
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/26/world/africa/26algeria.html
355
Michael Slackman, “A Quiet Revolution in Algeria: Gains By Women,” New York Times, 26 May 2007,
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/26/world/africa/26algeria.html
54
Clothing
Most Algerian men and women in cities now wear Western
clothing. Many women also wear the hijab, but wearing the veil
is a matter of choice rather than social expectation. For some
women, the hijab is as much a fashion statement as an expression
of religious piety. In other cases, it may even be worn as a way
to make a single woman more attractive (i.e., more marriageable)
to would-be husbands. 356
Traditional clothing is no longer worn on a daily basis in much
of Algeria, except in the southern Sahara. There, the Tuareg men
still wear the taguelmoust, a piece of cloth used as both a turban
and a veil. Traditionally, the taguelmoust was dyed indigo blue,
and leaching of the dyes into the skin resulted in the Tuareg
sometimes being referred to as the “Blue Men of the Sahara.” In
recent times other colors have become popular as well. Tuareg men use the taguelmoust
as protection from blowing desert sands and to convey modesty within the culture’s
social hierarchy. 357, 358
Arts
Music
Algeria is the birthplace of rai (translated
“opinion”), a musical genre that first emerged in
the 1920s and 1930s in northwestern Algeria and
has since spread far beyond the nation’s borders.
The Bedouin-style music used traditional
instruments and songs woven around Arabic love
poetry. The music gradually evolved into an urban
musical style that boldly expressed the pains,
pleasures, and desires of working-class life. 359
Over time, new instruments and styles were added
to the mix, including rock and rap. 360 Early rai singers were women, known as cheikas
and meddahas, who performed either at social events strictly for women (meddahas) or at
weddings, religious festivals, and clubs (cheikas). 361
356
Siham Ali, “Hijab Revival: Fashion, Religion or Strategy?” Magharebia, 17 September 2010,
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/reportage/2010/09/17/reportage-01
357
Anthony Ham, Nana Luckham, and Anthony Sattin, “Traveling in the Sahara: Tying Your
Taguelmoust,” in Algeria (Footscray, Victoria, Australia: Lonely Planet Publications, 2007), 68.
358
The Banknote Den, “French West Africa, 25 France, Touareg Horseman, Lion,” 2010,
http://www.banknoteden.com/TMFOM%20French%20West%20Africa%2025.htm
359
Jane Cornwell, “Rai Music,” in Algeria (Footscray, Victoria, Australia: Lonely Planet Publications,
2007), 57.
360
Mari Virolle, “8. Representations and Female Roles in the Raï Song,” in Music and Gender:
Perspectives From the Mediterranean (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003), 215.
55
Later generations of rai performers were increasingly dominated by men with a more
pop-oriented style. References to sexual pleasure, food, alcohol, and social problems such
as unemployment made rai popular with Algeria’s lower classes, but it was barely
tolerated by the government and angrily railed against by Islamist groups. 362 When
several rai performers were murdered by Islamic militants during the 1990s civil war,
many of their peers fled to France. 363
Film
Funded by the Algerian government, 1965’s The
Battle of Algiers unsparingly details the urban
warfare that took place during Algeria’s war of
independence. Its documentary-style depiction of
urban guerrilla warfare tactics remains timely—it
was featured in a Pentagon special screening
during the Iraq War in 2003. 364
Other notable Algerian films include the 1975
Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winner
Chronicle of the Years of Fire (1975); Academy Award nominees for Best Foreign
Language Film Dust of Life (1995), Days of Glory (2006), and Outside the Law (2010);
and works by Merzak Allouache, whose popular films Omar Gatlato (1976), and Bab elOued City (1994) focus on the daily realities many Algerians face. 365, 366
361
Rod Skilbeck, “Mixing Pop and Politics: The Role of Raï in Algerian Political Discourse,” 22
September 1995, http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/osctrad.htm
362
Rod Skilbeck, “Mixing Pop and Politics: The Role of Raï in Algerian Political Discourse,” 22
September 1995, http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/osctrad.htm
363
Thomas Burkhalter, Independent Network for Local and Global Soundscapes, “Straight Outto Algiers:
As Raï Goes Global, Algerian Rap Attests to the Harsh Realities at Home,” 27 February 2002,
http://www.norient.com/html/show_article.php?ID=25
364
Michael T. Kaufman, “The World: Film Studies; What Does the Pentagon See in ‘Battle of Algiers,’”
New York Times, 7 September 2003, http://www.slate.com/id/2087628/
365
Michael Dembrow, “Bab El-Oued City,” in Programs Notes for the 10th Cascade Festival of African
Films, February/March 2000, http://spot.pcc.edu/~mdembrow/bab_el-oued_city.htm
366
Film Study Center at Harvard University, “Merzak Allouache: The McMillan-Stewart Fellowship in
Distinguished Filmmaking,” 2005, http://www.filmstudycenter.org/people_fellows_0506.html
56
Sports and Recreation
Football (soccer) is king in Algeria. 367 The Algerian national
team, known as Les Fennecs (The Desert Foxes), has been one of
the better teams in Africa, finishing in fourth place in the 2010
African Cup and qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South
Africa. Algeria has also qualified for the World Cup two other
times (1982, 1986), narrowly missing qualifying for the second
round in 1982 after a stunning upset of the defending champion
West Germany. The team’s fortunes declined through the 1990s
and most of 2000s, reaching a low point in 2006, when the Foxes
stumbled badly in African Zone qualifying for the World Cup. 368
Since Algeria’s first Olympic competition in 1964, its teams
have won 14 medals, most in either boxing or middle- to longdistance track events. 369 Runner Houssiba Boulmerka won
Algeria’s first gold medal, at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. 370
Noureddine Morceli won the men’s 1,500 m Olympic gold medal in 1996, and held the
world’s record for fastest time from 1992–1998. Morceli also held the world’s record for
the mile from 1993 to 1999. 371
367
Falaq Kagda, “Culture,” in Cultures of the World: Algeria (Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish, 1999),
105.
368
Anthony Ham, Nana Luckham, and Anthony Sattin, “The Culture: Sports,” in Algeria, (Footscray,
Victoria, Australia: Lonely Planet Publications, 2007), 43-44.
369
databaseOlympics.com, “All Athletes From Algeria,” 2008,
http://www.databaseolympics.com/players/bycountry.htm?cty=ALG
370
databaseOlympics.com, “Algeria: Medals Won,” 2008,
http://www.databaseolympics.com/country/countrypage.htm?cty=ALG
371
IAAF, “Berlin 2009: Progression of Official World Records,” 549–550,
http://www.iaaf.org/mm/document/competitions/competition/05/15/63/20090706014834_httppostedfile_p3
45-688_11303.pdf
57
1. Algeria’s Berbers all share the same language and cultural traits.
False
There are four main Berber groups; they speak different but related languages and have
distinct traditions and cultural practices unique to their group.
2. All Muslims believe that marabouts have special religious powers.
False
Certain Berber groups believe that marabouts, or holy men of the Sufi Islamic tradition,
can perform miracles. Many fundamental Muslims think this practice goes against Islam.
3. Female students outnumber males at universities in Algeria.
True
Females constitute approximately 60% of the enrollment.
4. Islamist groups view raï music as a positive contribution to society.
False
Islamist groups view raï as a decadent form of entertainment and often disapprove of its
lyrics. Islamists killed some prominent raï musicians in the 1990s, leading others to flee
the country.
5. Basketball is the national pastime in Algeria.
False
Football (soccer) is the national pastime in Algeria.
58
Chapter 5 Security
Introduction
Algeria is scarred by a violent civil war that left few corners of
the nation untouched. Although Algeria has returned to a
relatively normal state, persistent terrorist activities still plague
some regions. With the exception of Morocco, Algeria’s
relations with its neighbors are generally good. However, its
porous southern borders with Mali, Niger, and Mauritania
provide opportunities for smugglers and terrorists. The internal
political and economic situation in Algeria remains problematic.
Many Algerians are concerned about the traditional power
alliance between the country’s military leaders and the
presidency. This alliance has been relatively unrestrained due to
the absence of strong opposition parties. High unemployment
and housing shortages plague the daily lives of many Algerians,
particularly the young. Similar problems brought down
neighboring governments in North Africa during the early months of 2011. It remains
unclear to what extent the regional winds of political change will affect the Algerian
government.
U.S.–Algerian Relations
The United States and Algeria have established strong relations
“in key areas of mutual concern,” such as law enforcement and
counterterrorism. 372 In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks,
bilateral military and security cooperation increased between the
two nations. Most U.S. annual aid to Algeria (roughly USD 1.8
to 2.7 million) goes to counterterrorism, military training, and
law enforcement programs. 373 Algeria’s southern regions, which
extend into the Sahel, are considered particularly strategic
because they are vulnerable to the establishment of bases for
terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
(AQIM). 374
Algeria and the United States also have strong trade ties. The
United States is Algeria’s largest trading partner, while Algeria
372
373
Carol Migdalovitz, Congressional Research Service, “Algeria: Current Issues,” 22 November 2010, 12,
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/152624.pdf
374
Yahia Zoubir, “The United States and Algeria: The Cautious Road to Partnership,” Maghreb Center
Journal, no. 1 (Spring/Summer 2010): 8–10, http://maghrebcenter.org/journal/MaghrebCenterJournal
UnitedStatesandAlgeriaYahia Zoubir.pdf
59
is the United States’ second-largest trading partner in the Arab world. 375 An extensive
part of this trade is importation of Algerian crude oil. 376 American businesses have
invested nearly USD 5.5 billion in Algeria, primarily in its hydrocarbon sector. 377, 378
The U.S. government’s appreciation for Algeria’s assistance in counterterrorism
operations has been balanced by its desire to see the Bouteflika administration speed up
the democratic reform process. 379, 380 The two countries have also been on different sides
of several regional issues, including the Iraq War, accusations by the U.S. that Syria
supported terrorism in Lebanon, and the Darfur conflict in Sudan. 381
Relations with Neighboring Countries
Morocco
Morocco and Algeria, the two largest countries in
North Africa, have been rivals since their
independence in 1956 and 1962, respectively.
After Algeria declared independence, Morocco
asserted authority over some of Algeria’s
northwestern Saharan land claims, leading to the
brief “sands war” of October–November 1963. 382
The borders in this region were not settled until
1972. 383
A longer point of contention between them has been the status of Western Sahara, a
former Spanish colony claimed by Morocco. The Frente Popular de Liberación de
Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro (Polisario Front), an organization of Western Saharan
nationalists, rejects Morocco’s claim. After Morocco invaded Western Sahara in 1975,
375
Journal, no. 1 (Spring/Summer 2010): 13, http://maghrebcenter.org/journal/MaghrebCenterJournal United
StatesandAlgeriaYahiaZoubir.pdf
376
377
378
States and Algeria Yahia Zoubir .pdf
379
380
States and Algeria Yahia Zoubir .pdf
381
382
Benjamin Stora, “Ben Bella’s Algeria (1962–1965),” in Algeria 1830–2000: A Short History (Ithaca:
Cornell University Press, 2001), 135–136.
383
Carol Migdalovitz, Congressional Research Service, “Background Note: Algeria,” 22 November 2010,
10, http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/152624.pdf
60
the Algerian-backed Polisario Front guerrillas fought until a ceasefire was reached in
1991. 384 Today, tens of thousands of Sahrawi refugees from Western Sahara inhabit
camps near the Algerian town of Tindouf, close to the Moroccan border. The first of
these refugees arrived in 1975. Since then, the camps have been under the formal
administration of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), but in
practice are run by the Polisario Front. 385 As such, they are the day-to-day headquarters
of Western Sahara’s self-declared government-in-exile, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic
Republic (SADR). Currently, SADR controls a small, mostly unpopulated section of
Western Sahara east of a heavily mined, defensive sand berm built by Morocco. 386, 387
Algeria and Morocco broke off relations in 1976 because of the Western Sahara conflict,
and finally restored them in 1988. After a terrorist attack on a Marrakech hotel in 1994,
Morocco, suspecting Algerian involvement, instituted visa requirements for Algerian
citizens. Algeria responded by closing all border crossings, which remain closed to this
day. 388 This freeze in relations helped paralyze the Union du Maghreb Arabe (UMA;
Arab Maghreb Union), a regional organization formed in 1989 with the goal of fostering
North African political and economic cooperation. 389
384
Jacob Mundy, “Algeria and the Western Sahara Dispute,” Maghreb Center Journal, no. 1
(Spring/Summer 2010): 2–4, http://maghrebcenter.org/journal/MaghrebCenter Journal Mundy_Algeria-W
Sahara.pdf
385
Carol Migdalovitz, Congressional Research Service, “Background Note: Algeria,” 22 November 2010,
386
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, “2011 UNHCR Country Operations Profile—
Algeria,” 2011, http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/page?page=49e485e16
387
Norwegian Refugee Council, “Occupied Country, Displaced People,” 2008, 3,
http://www.nrc.no/arch/_img/9258989.pdf
388
The Economist, “Algeria and Morocco: Open That Border,” 27 May 2010,
http://www.economist.com/node/16219845
389
Jacob Mundy, “Algeria and the Western Sahara Dispute,” Maghreb Center Journal, no. 1
(Spring/Summer 2010): 10–11, http://maghrebcenter.org/journal/MaghrebCenter Journal Mundy_AlgeriaW Sahara.pdf
61
Mauritania, Mali, and Niger
Algeria’s long southern border with Mauritania, Mali, and Niger
straddles a remote, poorly policed region of the southern Sahara.
Smuggling of goods, weapons, humans, and drugs are significant
problems in this area. 390, 391 In addition, Al Qaeda in the Islamic
Maghreb (AQIM), whose main base is in the Kabylie region of
northern Algeria, has established a second base in the southern
Algerian borderlands and is involved in some of these illegal
activities. 392, 393, 394 For several years, AQIM terrorists operating
from these four countries’ border regions have kidnapped
tourists, foreign workers, security forces, and even local
citizens—sometimes leading to executions when payments are
not made. 395, 396 In several of these attacks, the hideout has been
in Mali, where the hostages were taken after being kidnapped in
Algeria, Mauritania, or Niger. 397, 398
The cross-border nature of the AQIM threat has spurred the region’s first joint military
patrols between Mali and Mauritania. Military cooperation among the four countries,
which have formed a counterterrorism coalition, will most likely increase if AQIM’s
activities in the Sahara continue to escalate. 399
390
Anouar Boukhars, “Fighting the Growth of Terrorist Networks in the Maghreb: Turning Threats Into
Opportunities,” Brookings Institution, December 2009,
http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2009/11_maghreb_boukhars.aspx
391
Kwesi Aning, “Potential New Hotspots For Extremism and Opportunities to Mitigate the Danger: The
Case of the Sahel” (conference paper, St Antony’s College, Oxford University, 8–9 October 2010)
http://www.sant.ox.ac.uk/centres/Aningpaper.pdf
392
Aida Alami, “Morocco Battles Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb,” Global Post, 2 November 2010,
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/morocco/101101/morocco-battles-al-qaeda-the-islamic-maghreb
393
Kwesi Aning, “Potential New Hotspots For Extremism and Opportunities to Mitigate the Danger: The
Case of the Sahel” (conference paper, St Antony’s College, Oxford University, 8–9 October 2010)
http://www.sant.ox.ac.uk/centres/Aningpaper.pdf
394
Andrew Black, “Al-Qaeda Operations in Kabylie Mountains Alienating Algeria’s Berbers,” Terrorism
Focus, vol. 5, no. 16, 23 April 2008,
http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=4876
395
Neil MacFarquhar, “Mali Tackles Al Qaeda and Drug Traffic,” New York Times, 1 January 2011,
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/world/africa/02mali.html?ref=alqaedaintheislamicmaghreb
396
Christian Lowe and Lamine Chikhi, “Gunmen Kidnap Italian Woman Tourist in Algeria,” Reuters, 4
February 2011, http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/04/us-security-algeria-kidnapidUSTRE7133OP20110204?pageNumber=1
397
Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, U.S. Department of State, “Chapter 2: Country Reports:
Africa Overview: Mali,” 5 August 2010, http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2009/140883.htm
398
Andrew Hansen and Lauren Vriens, “Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM),” Council on Foreign
Relations, 21 July 2009, http://www.cfr.org/north-africa/al-qaeda-islamic-maghreb-aqim/p12717
399
News 24, “Mali Joins Mauritania to Fight AQIM,” Agence France-Presse, 7 November 2010,
http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Mali-joins-Mauritania-to-fight-AQIM-20101107
62
Libya
Algeria’s relations with Libya have generally been stable and friendly since the late
1980s. 400, 401 One blip occurred during the mid-1990s, when Libya temporarily withdrew
from the Union du Magreb Arab (AMU) in protest of its members’ (including Algeria)
adherence to UN sanctions against Libya for its role in the Lockerbie bombing. 402 The
two countries also have a long standing but benign border dispute over more than 32,000
sq km (12, 350 sq mi) of land currently part of southeastern Algeria. 403 Economically, the
two countries have limited trade links (less than USD 50 million in total trade volume in
2008). This is not surprising, however, because the economies of Algeria and Libya rely
heavily on hydrocarbon exports.404, 405
Tunisia
Tunisia and Algeria have generally maintained
positive bilateral relations since the 1980s,
following a period of strained relations in the
1970s when each country accused the other of
granting refuge to its political adversaries. 406 In
1983, the two countries became economically
linked with the opening of the Trans-Med natural
gas pipeline, which transports Algerian gas to
Italy via Tunisia and the Mediterranean Sea. 407 A
decade later, Algeria and Tunisia successfully
concluded negotiations on a border agreement that ended a 20-year dispute over the
demarcation of the boundary. 408 Tunisia is also Algeria’s leading trade partner among
400
401
Loretta Napoleoni, “North Africa: International Relations,” in Encyclopedia of the Developing World,
vol. 1 (New York: Routledge, 2006), 1169,
402
Executive-Magazine.com, “Commerce—Trade Across the Maghreb,” May 2008, http://www.executivemagazine.com/getarticle.php?article=10655
403
Central Intelligence Agency, “Libya,” in The World Factbook, 25 January 2011,
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ly.html
404
Marweb.com, “Algeria-Libya: Strengthening Legal Framework For Trade,” APS, 8 January 2010,
http://news.marweb.com/algeria/ecomonics/business/algeria-libya-strengthening-legal-framework-fortrade-2634.html
405
Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, U.S. Department of State, “Background Note: Libya,” 17 November
2010, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5425.htm#econ
406
John P. Entelis and Lisa Arone, “Chapter 4: Government and Politics: Foreign Policy: Africa,” in
Algeria: A Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, December 1993), 222–223.
407
Mark H. Hayes, “Algerian Gas to Europe: The Transmed Pipeline and Early Spanish Gas Import
Projects,” Program on Energy and Sustainable Development, Stanford University, May 2004, 1,
http://www.rice.edu/energy/publications/docs/GAS_TransmedPipeline.pdf
408
Jean R. Tartter, “Chapter 5: National Security: External Security Problems and Policies: Strategic
Perspectives,” in Algeria: A Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, December
1993), 245.
63
countries of the AMU, although total trade between the two is less than 1% of Algeria’s
total annual trade. 409
Military
Algeria has an active-duty military force of
approximately 138,000 members, of which about
87% are army troops. 410, 411 The remainder are
split between the navy/coast guard and air force.
Another 150,000 military reserves are attached to
the army. 412, 413 A large percentage of the active
military are conscripts. 414 It is mandatory for
males between the ages of 19 and 30 to serve 18
months of military service. 415
Algeria also has a sizable paramilitary force that is actually larger than the active-duty
military. Much of the fighting during Algeria’s civil war of the 1990s and early 2000s
was carried out by these groups rather than the regular army. 416 Among these groups are
the Gendarmerie Nationale, a component of the Algerian military primarily responsible
for policing in rural areas; and the Ministry of the Interior’s Sûreté Nationale, which
carries out policing activities in urban areas. 417
Algerian military leaders have long played a largely behind-the-scenes role in
governmental and economic affairs, and have collectively been referred to as le pouvoir
(“the power”). 418, 419, 420 Virtually all the country’s presidents have either had a military
409
European Commission, “Algeria: Algeria’s Trade With Main Partners (2009),” EUROSTAT, 18
January 2011, 6, http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2006/september/tradoc_113343.pdf
410
Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, “Country Profile: Algeria,” May 2008, 21,
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Algeria.pdf
411
21, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/8005.htm
412
413
Anthony Cordesman and Aram Nerguizian, “The Military Forces of Algeria,” in The North African
Military Balance: Force Developments in the Maghreb (Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and
International Studies, 2009), 44.
414
415
Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, “Country Profile: Algeria,” May 2008, 21,
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Algeria.pdf
416
417
418
Jean R. Tartter, “Chapter 5: National Security: External Security Problems and Policies: Strategic
Perspectives,” in Algeria: A Country Study (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, December
1993), 254–256.
64
background or won election with the consensus backing of the military (as in the case of
current president Adelaziz Bouteflika). 421 In recent years, Bouteflika has strengthened his
position relative to the military through the forced retirement of senior and mid-level
army officers who held power during the civil war years. Whether he successfully
reversed the balance of power between the military and government is debatable. 422, 423
Terrorist Groups and Activities
The primary terrorist group in Algeria is Al Qaeda
in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), an organization
formally known as the Salafist Group for
Preaching and Combat (GSPC). The GSPC began
in 1996 as an offshoot of the Armed Islamic
Group (GIA), the most violent of the Islamist
militant groups that fought against the Algerian
government during the 1990s civil war. 424 The
GSPC initially rejected the GIA’s indiscriminate
attacks against civilian targets and soon took over
most of the GIA’s financial and supply networks, possibly with the assistance of Al
Qaeda contacts. 425, 426
In 2004, GSPC leadership fell to Abdelmalek Droukdel (a.k.a. Abu Musab Abdul
Wadud), who formally linked the GSPC with the Al Qaeda network in September
2006. 427, 428 Thereafter, suicide bombings and attacks against Western targets became
part of the terrorist organization’s methods. 429 To date, AQIM’s most high-profile attack
419
Peter Philipp and Spencer Kimball, “Powerful Military Make Regime Change in Algeria Unlikely,”
Deutsche Welle, 14 February 2011, http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,14841818,00.html
420
Ed Blanche, “Algeria the Battle Within; President Bouteflika Clips the Wings of Algeria’s LongPowerful Military,” BNET, May 2006, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2742/is_367/ai_n24987369/
421
Carol Migdalovitz, “Background Note: Algeria,” Congressional Research Service, 22 November 2010,
422
Ed Blanche, “Algeria the Battle Within; President Bouteflika Clips the Wings of Algeria’s LongPowerful Military,” BNET, May 2006, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2742/is_367/ai_n24987369/
423
Peter Philipp and Spencer Kimball, “Powerful Military Make Regime Change in Algeria Unlikely,”
Deutsche Welle, 14 February 2011, http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,14841818,00.html
424
BBC News, “Profile: Algeria’s Salafist Group,” 14 May 2003,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3027621.stm
425
Lauren Vriens, “Armed Islamic Group (Algeria, Islamists),” Council on Foreign Relations, 27 May
2009, http://www.cfr.org/algeria/armed-islamic-group-algeria-islamists/p9154
426
Andrew Black, “Mokhtar Belmokhtar: The Algerian Jihad’s Southern Amir,” Terrorism Monitor, vol. 7,
no. 12, 10, 8 May 2009, http://www.jamestown.org/uploads/media/TM_007_15.pdf
427
Andrew McGregor, “Leadership Disputes Plague Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb,” Terrorism Focus,
vol. 4, no. 30, 25 September 2007,
http://www.jamestown.org/programs/gta/single/?tx_ttnews[tt_news]=4433&tx%20_ttnews[backPid]=240&
no_cache=1
428
National Counterterrorism Center, “Al-Qa’ida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM),” 2011,
http://www.nctc.gov/site/groups/aqim.html
429
65
occurred on December 2007, when 42 people were killed by 2 simultaneous suicide car
bombs in Algiers. The Algerian Supreme Court building and the local headquarters of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees were targeted in the bombings. 430
The number of high-profile terrorist attacks by AQIM has decreased since 2009. 431, 432
Numerous low-level terrorist operations—such as roadside bombings using improvised
explosive devices (IEDs)—still occur, more than half of them in the Kabylie provinces of
Tizi Ouzou and Boumerdès. 433 AQIM’s terrorist activities in the south mostly involve
kidnappings for ransom, primarily in Mali, Niger, and Mauritania since 2009. A notable
exception was the June 2010 attack against an Algerian gendarme (police) patrol near the
Mali border that left 12 dead, including a customs agent who had been taken hostage. 434
430
National Counterterrorism Center, “Worldwide Incidents Tracking System,” 2011,
https://wits.nctc.gov/FederalDiscoverWITS/index.do?Rcv=Incident&R=9155&nav=Rd%3DGroupType%2
57C4294967065%257CIslamic%2BExtremist%2B%2528Sunni%2529%257C%257CIncludedGroupNatio
nalities%257C4294957750%257CAlgeria%26Nrc%3Did%2B8155%2Bdynrank%2Bdisabled%26N%3D0
431
Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, U.S. Department of State, “Chapter 2: Country Reports:
Middle East and North Africa Overview: Algeria,” 5 August 2010,
http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2009/140886.htm
432
433
https://wits.nctc.gov/FederalDiscoverWITS/index.do?Rd=GroupType|4294967065|Islamic+Extremist+%28
Sunni%29||Country|4294955648|Algeria&rpp=100&Nf=p_IncidentDate|GT+20060101||p_IncidentDate|GT
+20090101&Ns=p_IncidentDate&N=0
434
https://wits.nctc.gov/FederalDiscoverWITS/index.do?Rcv=Incident&R=27586&nav=Rd%3DGroupType%
257C4294967065%257CIslamic%2BExtremist%2B%2528Sunni%2529%257C%257CCountry%257C429
4955648%257CAlgeria%26rpp%3D100%26Nf%3Dp_IncidentDate|GT%2B20060101||p_IncidentDate|GT
%2B20090101%26Nrc%3Did%2B8092%2Bdynrank%2Bdisabled%26Ns%3Dp_IncidentDate%26N%3D0
%26No%3D100
66
Other Issues Affecting Stability
Political Reform
The early months of 2011 saw a series of popular revolts against
the long-time autocratic governments in Tunisia, Egypt, and
Libya, where leaders had collectively held power for over 90
years. To varying degrees, Algeria has many of the problems that
fed the revolts in countries to its east: high youth unemployment,
high-level government corruption, prolonged state-of-emergency
regulations that have suppressed dissent and discouraged the
development of opposition political movements, and a president
who has seemed increasingly intent to serve for life. 435
Unemployment and rising food prices led to protests in Algeria
in January 2011 and a call for broad political reforms. 436 Police
clamped down on demonstrations with batons and tear gas, and
calls for reform began to lose momentum. 437 In an attempt to
defuse public anger, the Algerian government agreed in February 2011 to end the stateof-emergency regulations, though large-scale protest gatherings were still not allowed.
Despite the general discontent with the government, Algeria is different from its
neighbors in that it underwent a relatively recent period of brutal civil war in which
innocent civilians were often the victims. Few Algerians wish the country to go through
another episode of violent political uprising. As Karim Tabbou, national secretary of the
Socialist Forces Front (a leading political party in the Kabylie region) noted, “Most
Algerians don’t want to risk an adventure… Symbolically, people are still traumatized by
what happened before.” 438
435
Time.com, “Arab Revolution: Will Algeria’s Regime Be the Next to Fall?” 14 February 2011,
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2048975,00.html
436
BBC News Africa, “Fresh Rioting Breaks Out in Algerian Capital Algiers,” 7 January 2011,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12134307
437
Adam Nossiter, “Amid a Sea of Upheaval, Algeria is Still,” New York Times, 18 February 2011,
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/19/world/africa/19algeria.html?_r=1&ref=algeria
438
Adam Nossiter, “Amid a Sea of Upheaval, Algeria is Still,” New York Times, 18 February 2011,
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/19/world/africa/19algeria.html?_r=1&ref=algeria
67
Water and Food
Algeria is one of Africa’s most populous nations,
with an estimated 35 million people. Most live in
the small, northernmost part of the country. Water
is a crucial and chronically insufficient resource
for Algerians. Riots tied to water shortages have
occurred in some regions in recent years. 439
During a drought in 2006, water availability in
Algiers was cut in half to just 8 hours a day. 440
Recognizing the problem, the Algerian
government has set aside large sums of money to
build new dams and desalinization facilities and to repair the estimated 30% of Algerian
water pipes that leak. 441
Algerian reservoirs are currently used almost exclusively for drinking water, so when
droughts occur, as in 2008, the country’s agricultural harvests are subject to sharp
declines. 442, 443 Even during years with normal rainfall, Algeria must import a large
amount of its food staples. Global price increases for wheat, sugar, and other key imports
cause consumer prices to rise dramatically unless the government implements price
controls. The Bouteflika administration enacted such measures after food-price riots
broke out in January 2011. 444
439
Stephanie Irvine, “Algerians Hot Over Water Shortages,” BBC News, 14 July 2002,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2127885.stm
440
Maghrebia.com, “Algeria Takes Steps to Ration Drinking Water,” 1 December 2006,
http://magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2006/12/01/feature-01
441
Maghrebia.com, “Algeria Seeks Dynamic Soultions to Water Shortages,” 17 March 2005,
442
Maghrebia.com, “Spectre of Drought Threatens Algeria,” 25 February 2008,
443
U.S. Department of Agriculture, “Algeria Wheat Production by Year,” IndexMundi.com,
http://www.indexmundi.com/agriculture/?country=dz&commodity=wheat&graph=production
444
The Independent, “Riots Spread Over Food Prices in Algeria,” Reuters, 8 January 2011,
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/riots-spread-over-food-prices-in-algeria-2179180.html
68
1. Algeria’s relations with Morocco have generally been friendly.
False
Numerous issues have made relations tense. The border remains closed to this day.
2. The Algerian army was the main fighting force in the 1990s civil war.
False
Most of the fighting was conducted by paramilitary forces and national police
organizations.
3. The Algerian paramilitary is larger than the active-duty army.
True
Algeria’s various paramilitary groups had around 180,000 people in 2008, compared to
roughly 147,000 active-duty personnel.
4. Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Algeria have formed a security alliance.
True
Because all these countries faced a threat from Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb,
cooperation was attractive.
5. Tunisia and Algeria have limited trade linkages.
False
Tunisia and Algeria have strong trade linkages. By contrast, Algeria’s trade linkages with
Libya are quite modest.
69
Final Assessments
1. Annaba is the highest city in Algeria.
2. Earthquakes pose the greatest natural disaster threat to Algeria.
3. The city of Constantine is divided into two parts.
4. Chichili are northward-blowing winds.
5. All Algerians have unrestricted access to water.
6. Under French colonial rule, Algeria was divided into three départments (states).
7. The term pied-noirs refers to Algerians who worked for the French colonial
government.
8. French-educated Muslims (évolués) were the first to organize a political reform
movement.
9. The “Black October” riots occurred in 1492.
10. The current Algerian constitution limits the amount of terms a president can
serve.
11. Algeria typically enjoys an annual trade surplus.
12. Over half of visitors to Algeria are expatriate nationals coming back to visit
family.
13. The value of Algerian currency, the dinar, is fixed.
14. Private banks dominate the financial services market in Algeria.
15. Algeria is not a member of OPEC.
16. The legal status of women in Algeria is defined by shari’a law.
17. Raï was originally Bedouin-style music.
18. Women are not required to veil in Algeria.
19. “Blue Men of the Sahara” refers to the Tuareg.
20. Algerian athletes have excelled in track events at the Olympics.
21. Most Algerian presidents have had strong military ties.
70
22. The Bouteflika government implemented price controls in response to 2011 riots
over food prices.
23. Unemployment disproportionately affects workers over the age of 50 in Algeria.
24. The Union du Magreb Arab (AMU) was formed as a security organization.
25. Sahwari refugees from Western Sahara live in refugee camps near the Algerian
town of Tindouf.
71
Further Resources
Books
Benmalek, Anouar. The Lovers of Algeria. St. Paul, MN: Graywolf Press, 2004.
Chouaki, Aziz. The Star of Algiers. St. Paul, MN: Gray Wolf Press, 2004.
Ciment, James. Algeria: The Fundamentalist Challenge. New York: Facts on File, Inc.,
1997.
Djebar, Assia. Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1993.
Ham, Anthony, and Nana Luckham, Anthony Sattin. Algeria. Footscray, Victoria,
Australia: Lonely Planet Publications, 2007.
Horne, Alistair. A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954–1962. New York: New York
Review Books, 1977, reprinted 2006.
Kagda, Falaq. Cultures of the World: Algeria. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1999.
Le Sueur, James D. Between Terror and Democracy: Algeria Since 1989. Black Point,
Nova Scotia, Canada: Fernwood Publishing, 2010.
Metz, Helen Chapin, ed. Algeria: A Country Study. Washington, DC: U.S. Government
Printing Office, 1994.
Naylor, Phillip C. North Africa: A History from Antiquity to the Present. Austin:
University of Texas Press, 2009.
Oakes, Jonathan. Algeria. Chalfon St. Peter, UK: Bradt Travel Guides, 2008.
Phillips, John, and Martin Evans. Algeria: Anger of the Dispossessed. New Haven: Yale
University Press, 2008.
Rogerson, Barnaby. A Traveller’s History of North Africa, 2nd ed. New York: Interlink
Books, 2009.
Ruedy, John. Modern Algeria: The Origins and Development of a Nation, 2nd ed.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2005.
Schade-Poulsen, Marc. Men and Popular Music in Algeria: The Social Significance of
Raï. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1999.
Stara, Benjamin. Algeria 1830–2000: A Short History. Ithaca: Cornell University Press,
2001.
Stone, Martin. The Agony of Algeria. New York: Columbia University Press, 1997.
Zurlo, Tony. Algeria. Detroit: Lucent Books, 2005.
72
Films
Bab El-Oued City. Directed by Merzak Allouache. Netherlands, 1994.
Barakat! (“Enough!”). Directed by Djamila Sahraoui. France, 2006.
The Battle of Algiers. Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo. US, 1966.
Chronicles of the Years of Embers. Directed by Mohamed Lakhdar-Hamina. France,
1975.
Omar Gatlato. Directed by Merzak Allouache. France, 1976.
Outside the Law. Directed by Rachid Bouchareb. France, 2010.
73

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