Africa Center for Strategic Studies

By Catherine Goueset. L’Express, July 2012. Algeria does not want a secessionist movement in neighboring Mali led by Tuaregs to destabilize Algeria’s own population of Tuaregs, which Algeria fears could threaten the regime’s power. Algeria assumed an intermediary role during past Malian rebellions and now is negotiating with Ansar Eddine, an Islamist group that has taken territory previously held by Tuaregs in northern Mali. AE makes no clear claims of independence for the region and Algeria believes that the international community will accept AE as a liberator if AE integrates into and conforms to the prevailing governance structures in Mali. AE could also weaken the recruitment of other Islamist groups who have been implementing shari’a law. For example, AE ordered other Islamist groups to stop abductions in AE territory. Without AE, Algeria fears that other Islamist groups will create a haven for terrorists who will destabilize the region. Download the French article : [HTML]

By Alexis Arieff. Congressional Research Service, January 2012. Algeria is a crucial state in a volatile region but faces growing internal and external challenges. While financially stable and benefiting from a robust security apparatus, rising unemployment and housing shortages have led to protests against the “pouvoir,” an opaque politico-military elite network that dominates decisionmaking. Meanwhile, the growing capacity of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), comprised of former militants from the 1990s Algerian civil war, poses a threat to stability in Algeria and neighboring states. The government must fulfill recent political reforms to stave off further internal turmoil and overcome its resistance to working collaboratively with regional and international partners if it is to tackle its terrorist threats. Download the article [PDF]

By Laurence Aïda Ammour. Africa Center for Strategic Studies, February 2012.

Despite growing concerns across the Sahel and Maghreb over the increasing potency of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the diffusion of heavily armed mercenaries from Libya, the expanding influence of arms and drugs trafficking, and the widening lethality of Boko Haram, regional security cooperation to address these transnational threats remains fragmented. Algeria is well-positioned to play a central role in defining this cooperation, but must first reconcile the complex domestic, regional, and international considerations that shape its decision-making.

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By Jean-Pierre Filiu, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2009. Threats posed by terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM) are creating security challenges not only to host nations but the global community.  AQIM continues to exploit people’s disdain for Western policies in the region as a recruiting tool. However, in-fighting among its leadership and failure to consolidate a North African wide-organization due to resistance from the Libyan Al-Qaeda entity have been serious obstacles. The author argues that AQIM’s potency has been further weakened by intense pressure from the Algerian security forces as well as enhanced rapid reaction capacity in the region resulting from United States support to the Pan Sahel Initiative countries (Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger) now expanded to the Trans-Saharan Counter-Terrorism Partnership TSCTP (including Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria). Download the Paper: [PDF]

By Amel Boubekeur, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2008 Confronting indigenous Islamists movements has been a challenge not only for the West but for Arab governments. Strategies for the inclusion of moderates into the legal and political process while aggressively pursuing the radicals are gaining traction, though the political ramifications of this approach have yet to be seen. Part of the government strategy to counter radical groups (Da’wa Salafism, Salafiyya Harakiyya and Salafiyya Jihadiyya), include amnesty for those who abandon their radical views and a concerted effort of aggressively pursuing the rejecters. While only Da’wa Salafism has accepted the amnesty offer, the other two have seen their influence decline.  Despite the success in containing these radical groups, the author argues that they still retain the capability to carry out terrorist attacks and thus represent a serious security threat. Download the Paper: [PDF]