Abdelaziz Bouteflika
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Book review: Kaouther Adimi’s "December Kids"
Algeria's younger generation rebels
In her third and most recent novel, Paris-based Algerian author Kaouther Adimi writes almost prophetically about a rebellion by a handful of children against the rigid and outdated system in her home country. Claudia Kramatschek read the book for Qantara
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Algeria: how the Hirak fared in 2020
Protestors still calling for genuine democracy
Algeria has not found peace since Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who was president for 20 years, resigned under massive public pressure in April 2019. On 1 November 2020, the government held a constitutional referendum to end the political crisis. But things did not work out as it planned. On the contrary, the rifts between the regime and the pro-democracy movement have deepened further. The opposition now wants to use the momentum from the latest wave of protests to better organise itself. By Sofian Philip Naceur
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Democracy in the Maghreb
Tebboune's 'New Algeria' looks a lot like the old Algeria
Algeria's recent referendum was a thinly veiled attempt to hijack the agenda of the country's popular Hirak protest movement. Yet the people are no longer willing to accept ageing leaders who rely on a veneer of democracy to maintain their rule. Legitimacy will only be achieved by genuine structural reforms. By Dalia Ghanem
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France, terrorism and identity politics
Emmanuel Macron's determination to pick the wrong battle
Emmanuel Macron appears to want to rekindle the old conflicts between Occident and Orient. He blusters on about a "crisis of Islam", as if oblivious to the more acute crises society is facing these days, says Stefan Buchen in his essay
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On Bangladesh's isolated "Rohingya island"
Bangladesh has invested €248 million to make Bhasan Char island liveable for the Rohingya. But the refugees, currently camped in Cox's Bazar district, are reluctant to move to the cyclone-prone island. By Arafatul Islam & Naomi Conrad
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COVID-19 consequences
Coronavirus halts year-long protests in Algeria
Exploiting the coronavirus emergency, Algeria’s ruling classes have ramped up their repressive campaign against the protest movement, opposition and free media. By Sofian Philip Naceur
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International Women’s Day
Ainouz' "Nardjes A." – hope as a form of resistance
Focussing on the Algerian protest movement, "Nardjes A." by Karim Ainouz, is about the universal power of hope to change the social and political status quo in the Maghreb country. By Rene Wildangel
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First anniversary of the Hirak movement
The jury's still out on Algeria
Few would have thought that Algeria's Hirak protest movement would still be mobilising the masses 12 months on from its first peaceful demonstration. According to Isabelle Werenfels and Luca Miehe, the systemic change people hoped for post-Bouteflika has yet to materialise. External players need to brace themselves for ongoing political turbulence
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Arab Spring 2.0
The Middle East's fearless protesters
The upheavals of the past year in the MENA region are arguably as momentous as those of the Arab Spring in 2011. Yet perhaps the biggest difference is that our interest seems to have evaporated. Why? Essay by Jannis Hagmann
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Unpopular presidential elections
Algeria stands at a historic crossroads
Algeria's political impasse has been going on for weeks. Attempts to calm the public mood by sacrificing some of the Bouteflika faithful has only served to fuel demonstrators' demands that all such remnants of the old guard be rooted out. Whether there is an election or not, the crisis seems set to continue, writes political analyst Ali Anouzla
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Unrest in the Arab world
The genie is out of the bottle
The Arab world is one gigantic pressure cooker. For the most part the lid of repression is on, but it is boiling over with increasing frequency. Whether in Lebanon, Iraq or in Algeria, where people are rising up against political despotism and corruption. By Karim El-Gawhary