Algeria - History, North African Politics & Goverment, Politics & Islam

Algeria : The Fundamentalist Challenge

Name: Algeria : The Fundamentalist Challenge
Author: James Ciment
ISBN: 9780816033409

by James Ciment

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Overview

Algeria is a nation at war with itself. Civil strife has engulfed the country since early 1992, when a secular military government called off a national election after its Islamic opponents won the first round. Since then the militant Islamic opposition has employed suicide bombings, assassinations and death threats to make the country ungovernable. The most secularized of nations in the region, Algeria would not seem to have been the most vulnerable to disorder involving Muslim fundamentalists and Islamists. However, as in other postcolonial societies, the lack of democracy since independence has nurtured the growth of religious populism as the only available form of political resistance to corrupt government authority. Algeria: The Fundamentalist Challenge lucidly untangles the roots of this conflict in the colonial era and after, and examines it in the context of local, regional and international politics. It is written for students and other readers who need a clear introduction to one of the more significant struggles of our era.

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Editorials

Library Journal

Ciment (history, CCNY) provides a highly readable account of factors that have led to Algeria's present civil war. He details the emergence of political Islam and explains the various groups vying for power in the country and the causes of the regime's eroding legitimacy. In the recent past, Algeria was a significant developing country whose revolutionary credentials and epic war of independence from France catapulted it into the forefront of Third World politics. The country has now fallen on hard times. Political decay, corruption, statist economic mismanagement, and one-party dictatorship have contributed to the emergence of a powerful Islamic opposition movement battling the regime for the hearts and minds of the population. This lucidly written and cogently argued book is highly recommended for informed readers and specialists.-Nader Entessar, Spring Hill Coll., Mobile, Ala.

Booknews

Untangles the roots of political conflict among fundamentalist Islamic groups in the colonial era and after in the context of local, regional, and international politics. Chapters provide an overview of the conflict, its history, and the participants, and discuss issues and negotiations. Includes b&w maps and a glossary of names and terms. Written as an introduction for general readers and students. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.