Simone De Beauvoir and
Gisele Halimi were indefatigable. They wrote to every responsible official in
the judiciary, military and government – up to General de Gaulle. Lest we forget.
Mireille Fanon-Mendès France, activist, scholar, and daughter of Frantz Fanon, talks about the enduring relevance of his ideas and passions in contemporary political life.
Marine Le Pen's declaration that colonialism was a positive thing is not only a denial of France's painful history, but an example of the fascism that we now face in Europe.
Whatever else they were
guilty of, the two authors of the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003, George Bush and Tony Blair,
displayed an astonishing ignorance of history.
In tribute to the courageous struggle of mothers and wives of the disappeared and in memory of my cellmates who disappeared in Châteauneuf as well as all other victims.
In this letter written during Algeria’s
“dark decade” of fundamentalist violence - sadly relevant today - Mahfoud
Bennoune argued that movements purveying “Islamic states” through terror are
ultimately “doomed to failure.”
The LMD reforms have tied the fate of the Algerian higher education
sector to European intellectual and economic development, reinforcing the neoliberal assault on higher education and on society at large.
Algeria is facing succession scrambles and economic crisis. Why are the country’s leaders handing the country over to the IMF rather than use its political and economic talent?
An excerpt from a NOREF report on the background to the current situation in the Middle East, focusing on the aftermath of the 'Arab Spring'. Part one: North Africa, Egypt and the Gulf.
In light of propaganda against the movement, media censorship, book banning and bogus Interpol arrest warrants against its founders, the regime clearly sees it as a threat. But why?
The history of Algerian Diwane is as rich as the musical tradition itself. Gaâda Diwane de Béchar are playing at Rich Mix in London, Thursday, May 28, 8pm.
The securitisation of immigration control has failed to solve the migrant crisis because it ignores the root cause: a global system that puts profits before people.
The call for national mobilisation to oppose shale-gas exploitation in Algeria has been a success. But despite uninterrupted, growing protests and recent clashes, the Algerian government is pressing ahead with its shale-gas development plans.
Why is it that the homeland always rejects its most erudite children? Latefa Guemar pays tribute to the feminist writer remembered for her intellectual honesty and unflinching
stance against Algerian patriarchy, even from beyond its borders.
The ongoing anti-shale gas protests in southern Algeria look increasingly like a head-to-head confrontation between the Algerian government and a well-organised, conscious population.
The traumatic attacks in Paris provoked agonised public debate. But to be productive this needs to range more deeply through France's colonial history and modern society.
The column Saïd Mekbel published the day before he was assassinatedin 1994remains sadly topical today - recalling murdered
journalists everywhere. Republished in tribute to the people killed today at the offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo
Most so-called “terrorist”
activity is a by-product of neoliberalism’s on-going
crisis and its marginalisation of a growing proportion of the world’s
population.
When, rarely, Middle East elections take place, the Djerejian doctrine seems confirmed. But it is the west who only endorse one vote at one time, when the results serve its interests.
The latest act of violence may be part of a pattern of opportunist 'career advancement' for the leader of Jund El Khalifa, rather than an indication of real IS presence in Algeria.
Much has been made in the media of the women jihadists of IS, but this kind of violence by women is not unprecedented and is comparable to the Algerian experience of the 1990s.
On the 20th anniversary of the fundamentalist
assassination of Algerian educator Salah Chouaki, Karima Bennoune translates
his warning - so relevant today - about the need to be uncompromising in the
battle against the very ideology that motivated his murder.
What is the ideology motivating alleged “warriors of God” to
“trample Islam underfoot in the name of Jihad”? Algerian anthropologist
Mahfoud Bennoune explored this question in 1994, offering an analysis of the
political beliefs motivating “throat-slitting emirs” still much-needed today.
Today’s brutal
jihadists like “Islamic State” follow in the footsteps of fundamentalists who
have afflicted Muslim majority societies since the 12th
century. Algerian anthropologist Mahfoud Bennoune revisited that history
in order to strategize against jihadists - a task which remains essential.
The match between Algeria and Germany was not solely the sporting equivalent of David and Goliath. The Algerian national team has a political history: from its
creation by the FLN to its current outspoken support for the
Palestinians,the Fennecs have brought revolt, internationalism and solidarity to the
heart of the beautiful game.
The current
triple crisis also constitutes a chance for Algeria. More than ever it becomes
clear that the country is indispensable for a solution of the security problems
in the region.
Like much of the rest of the Arab Spring, the urge of
the millennial generation across North Africa and the Middle East for a more
multicultural world seems far from realization, but they have put it on a
future Arab agenda. Its moment will return.
For many Syrian women in Algeria, the gendered experience of violence and displacement has been compounded by the discrimination they now face as women refugees, says Latefa Guemar.
openDemocracy is an independent global media platform covering world affairs, ideas and culture which seeks to challenge power and encourage democratic debate across the world. Read more...