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Analyzes the origins of Western supremacy over Islamic culture & civilization, focusing on the essentialist ethnocentric perspective of the "Other." The Western self-perception of supremacy is traced to the discovery of America, the expulsion of Muslims & Jews from Spain, colonialism, & the globalizing dynamics of the post-Cold War era. An essentialist understanding of the culture of the "Other," & thus of Islam, underlies the Western reaction to the armed conflict in Algeria, where, in the Western mind, forces of good (modernists & democrats) fight against evil (Islamic fundamentalists). J. Sadler

The author looks at recent efforts to implement political reform in the Maghreb & discusses how reform relates to the widening social inequities that threaten states in the region. He describes recent political changes in Morocco, Tunisia, & Algeria & assesses their impact. He finds that further reform is needed to defuse the threat of more political instability & violence in the region. A. Funderburg

Cet article offre une étude comparative de l'évolution de la situation politique en Algérie et en Egypte dans la perspective de l'affrontement entre le pouvoir et les islamistes. Il analyse les stratégies gouvernementales et celles des islamistes, dans le cadre des différentes dynamiques historiques et sociales des deux pays.