Return of the Arab strongman

In: The world today, Band 69, Heft 1, S. 5

Abstract

Algeria, the biggest country in Africa and potentially one of the most volatile, played an eerily subdued role in the Arab Spring. There were sizeable demonstrations to begin with but while neighbours including Libya and Tunisia exploded into revolution, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's regime remained remarkably stable. It is only now, two years since a wave of popular uprisings spread across the Middle East and North Africa, that Algeria has become a focus of world interest. With revived interest in Algeria, there is much for the West to learn. Bouteflika spent much of the Arab Spring warning that gangster jihadists would thrive within the borders of his newly liberated neighbours. Anticipating dark consequences of the Arab uprisings, the determinedly iron-fisted Bouteflika clamped down on any sign of unrest at the beginning of 2011. Adapted from the source document.