Article
Amel Boubekeur
REQUIRED IMAGE
Salafism and Radical Politics in Postconflict Algeria
Since the civil war of the 1990s, Algeria’s government has given moderate Islamist parties only a superficial role in politics. The resulting rise of Salafism, which rejects the country’s political system, reveals the need for Algeria to increase political transparency and participation and engage its citizens to discourage radicalization outside the political system.
Published on Oct 20, 2008
Since the civil war of the 1990s, Algeria’s government has given moderate Islamist parties only a superficial role in politics. Consequently, support for Algerian Salafism, which rejects the country’s political system, has increased, creating for its followers a separate Islamic way of life without engagement in politics or confrontation with the army. In a new paper, Amel Boubekeur examines how the rise of Salafism indicates the need for Algeria to increase political transparency and participation and engage its citizens, particularly the young, to discourage radicalization outside the political system.
Violence continues to plague the country despite security measures, enacted at the expense of civil liberties. By cancelling elections and outlawing the radical Islamist party Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in 1992, the Algerian government effectively pushed radicals out of the political system. In turn, many turned to terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb to advance their agenda, while others joined movements rejecting participatory politics and preserving radicalism, such as Da’wa Salafism.
Key Conclusions:
- Da’wa Salafism, currently the most popular Salafi movement, refuses to recognize a secular political system and encourages its followers to re-Islamize society outside the framework of a political party. The success of this movement signals the growing disinterest among young people toward more moderate Islamist parties and their fake participatory strategies.
- The development of Da’wa Salafism is due in large part to Algeria’s recent economic boom. Benefiting greatly from the oil rent through various business networks, Da’wa Salafists adopt a neutral attitude toward the state which, in turn, tolerates them—contradicting the premise that Islamic radicalization is linked to economic depression.
- The detachment of Da’wa Salafism has allowed many former FIS militants to reintegrate within civil society. However, it has not provided a complete solution against terrorist violence, or an opportunity to reintegrate repentant terrorists and radicals into a democratic political system.
- Since 9/11, the United States has considered Algeria an important partner in the fight against terrorism. However, this legitimacy has also allowed the government to continually postpone any normalization or pluralization in the political field. The evolution of Algerian Salafism reveals a need within the international community to rethink the place of radical movements in democracy promotion, and focus on bringing radicals—not just moderates—into the political system.
- The Algerian government should empower civil societies, promote the integration of Salafi members into democratic institutions and political parties, make the reconciliation process more transparent, and promote new forms of political legitimacy which are not based on violence and religion.
Boubekeur concludes:
“Social stability and national cohesion are challenged because the Algerian people still do not have real opportunities to engage in a process of dialogue uniting civil, political, and military actors. With their own relationship to the state, Algerian forms of Salafism reveal the deep need to switch from the security-oriented politics that has been in force for sixteen years to new modes of participatory politics.”
Amel Boubekeur is the head of the Islam and Europe programme at the Centre for European Policy Studies, Brussels and a research fellow at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales and the École Normale Supérieure, Paris. Her research focuses on North African politics, Euro–Arab relations, and Islam in Europe.
About the Author
Amel Boubekeur
Former Resident Scholar, Middle East Center
Boubekeur was an associate scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Center. Her research focuses on Maghreb country politics, Euro–Arab relations, and Islam in Europe.
- The Tunisian Elections: International Community Must Insist on Moving Beyond Façade Democracy
- Morocco: The Emergence of a New Palace PartyArticle
Amel Boubekeur
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Europe
- Win or Lose, Orbán Has Broken Hungary’s DemocracyCommentary
Hungarians head to the polls on April 12 for an election of national and European consequence. Three different outcomes are on the cards, each with their own implications for the EU.
Zsuzsanna Szelényi
- Is France Shifting Rightward?Commentary
The far right failed to win big in France’s municipal elections. But that’s not good news for the country’s left wing, which remained disunited while the broader right consolidated its momentum ahead of the 2027 presidential race.
Catherine Fieschi
- Is the Radical-Right Threat Existential or Overstated?Commentary
Amid increased polarization and the influence of disinformation, radical-right parties are once again gaining traction across Europe. With landmark elections on the horizon in several countries, are the EU’s geostrategic vision and fundamental values under existential threat?
Catherine Fieschi, Cas Mudde
- The EU Needs a Third Way in IranCommentary
European reactions to the war in Iran have lost sight of wider political dynamics. The EU must position itself for the next phase of the crisis without giving up on its principles.
Richard Youngs
- New Approaches to Defending Global Civil SocietyResearch
New thinking is needed on how global civil society can be protected. In an era of major-power rivalry, competitive geopolitics, and security primacy, civil society is in danger of getting squeezed – in some countries, almost entirely out of existence.
Richard Youngs, ed., Elene Panchulidze, ed.
