PLS 454/654

Comparative Study of the Maghreb

THE MAGHREBI. ALGERIAII. MOROCCOIII. TUNISIAIV. LIBYA

TERMS TO KNOW

ISF FLN Ben AliMakhzen Qaddafi Green Book(PSD) Destour Party BouteflikaKing’s Dilemma

The King’s Dilemma(Maddy-Weitzman, Huntington)

Autocratic rulers may undermine their basis of power by adopting reforms, but may risk the same result if they do not do so

General model of authoritarian regimes of the middle east

REGIME: A = AUTOCRATIC LEADER M = MILITARY

CIVIL SOCIETY: L = LIBERAL FACTIONS I = ISLAMIST FACTIONS

OUTCOMES: Scenario I: Continuation of the Authoritarian Status Quo Scenario II: Islamization of the Political Sphere Scenario III: Acceleration towards Democracy

I. THE MAGHREB

Democratic & Popular Republic of IIA. ALGERIA French colony until

independence (1962) FLN One-Party State 1991 Islamic Salvation Front

elections 1992 military forces ISF to

dissolve parliament and resign 5-member High Council of State Appointed President Boudiaf

Assassination & civil war GIA, GSPC

1999 election won by Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Re-elected 2004 & 2009 (2014?)

Algeria 2011 Jan 9: Algeria vows to punish

food rioters Five dead, 800 injured, 1,000

arrests

Feb 4: opposition groups go ahead with protests despite promises to allow more political freedoms. National Co-ordination for

Change and Democracy (CNCD) President Bouteflika to give

opposition air time and lift 19-year-old state of emergency

http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/01/09/132829.htmlhttp://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/02/201121943659150329.html#

IIB. MOROCCO Alawite Kingdom 1912 French Protectorate 1957 Independent

Kingdom of Morocco Muhammad V & Hassan Makhzen (commander of the

faithful) National Front

1999 Muhammad VI & 2002 free-ish elections

Morocco 2011 The February 20th

movement coalition of youth

groups, labor unions and human rights organizations demanding a new constitution & greater democracy

“relatively small and peaceful”

http://www.npr.org/2011/02/20/133913195/Morocco-Next-Nation-Taken-By-Protests?sc=emaf

IIC. TUNISIA 1881 French protectorate

1956 Independence

1959: PSD (Destourian Socialist

Party) dominance & one-party state

1980s: multiparty elections

1987: Bourguiba replaced by Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali

Tunisia 2011 December 17: Mohamed

Bouazizi self-immolation spontaneous nationwide uprising

219 killed in all

President Ben Ali resigns

PM Ghannouchi forms emergency unity government

Promise elections & greater political rights. Replaced with caretaker government

Tunisian Government Commission on Political Reform

http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/481/tunisias-glorious-revolution-and-its-implications

“We might lose our freedom because we become too drunk on

freedom” http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/world/africa/22tunisia.html

IID. LIBYA

Italy: 1911-1942 “Allied Powers”: 1942-1951 United Kingdom of Libya

Sayyid Muhammad Idris I

1969 Revolution Col. Muammar al-Qadaffi Green Book: natural socialism Revolutionary Command Council

(RCC)…really? General People’s Congress “Direct democracy”: popular,

revolutionary, purification, volcano cttees…

Libya 2011 National Front for the

Liberation of Libya (1981) Islamist (MB) & secular pro-democracy (Movement

for Change & Reform) 1984 failed revolution

Jan. 2011 Housing & corruption protests “Traitors of the West“: Facebook, Al-Jazeera, &

foreign journalists blocked & 200 killed City of Benghazi under anti-government control Tribal leaders railed against Gaddafi soldiers defecting to the opposition. senior Libyan officials resigning

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8335934/Libya-protests-140-massacred-as-Gaddafi-sends-in-snipers-to-crush-dissent.html?sms_ss=email&at_xt=4d61e7f2807c7cda%2C0

http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/4032.aspxhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/20/AR2011022004185.html?hpid=topnews

Appendix: The Battle of Algiers

http://www.liketelevision.com/liketelevision/tuner.php?

channel=955&format=tv&theme=guide