by J.N.C. Hill.
Published by Lynne Reinner Publishers, London, United Kingdom and Boulder, Colorado. 2009, 209 pages.
Reviewed by Commander Youssef Aboul-Enein, MSC, USN
With recent and rapid changes gripping the Middle East, it is vital to go beyond the headlines and read a few books to understand nuance and context. Jonathan. N. C. Hill is a lecturer in the Defense Studies Department at King's College in London. His most recent book is an in-depth look into the complex political history of Algeria with a focus on the impact of colonialism on this nation that has seen more than its share of political violence. Algeria is home to al-Qaida in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and therefore is of special interest in America's global counter-terrorism effort. The introduction offers an excellent essay on the betrayal of the French reason for colonizing Algeria in 1832, that the French has a civilizing mission. Yet no aspect of French liberty ever make to the Arab Algerian populace. What evolved, according to the book, are a series of laws and privileges that gave increasing civil liberties and outright power to the pied-nior (French settlers in Algeria). One ubiquitous law passed by the French, was the consideration of granting French citizenship to Muslim Algerians, only if they renounce their faith. The book does a marvelous job in laying out the imbalance of rights between the French settlers and the native Algerians. A zero-sum game developed in which any granting of rights to Algerians was perceived by French settlers of Algeria as an erosion of their privileges.
The book devotes an entire chapter to the evolution of the National Liberation Front (FLN), an organization created by nine men. Although the guerilla movement acquired independence from the French in 1962, the different founders of the FLN would digress into violent internal struggles, culminating with the take-over by Houari Boumidiene. The book discusses how Islam, Arab identity, and Socialism would be the slogans Boumidiene used to establish an Algerian identity, which was severely marginalized by French authorities. He would rule from 1965 to 1978, and would oversee disastrous economic policies that would be compounded by his predecessors leading partly to the rise of the Islamist option starting in 1987. The book discusses the rise of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), its leaders, and the differences within other Islamist groups. With the electoral dominance of the FIS in general elections, the Army would nullify the election in 1992 and declare a military junta. This led to the decade long civil war that claimed between 125,000 and 200,000 lives. A chapter takes us deep into the insurgency, and the increasing militancy of Islamist groups. The Islamic Army Group (GIA) would splinter into the Salafist Group for Propagation and Combat (GSPC), this would splinter into AQIM. This is a scholarly and deep dive into Algerian political history and personalities, it is highly recommended for counter-terrorism professionals, those interested in counter-insurgency, and North African affairs.
Editor's Note: Commander Aboul-Enein is author of "Militant Islamist Ideology: Understanding the Global Threat," published by Naval Institute Press (2010). He is Adjunct Chair of Islamic Studies at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Commander Aboul-Enein wishes to thank the National Defense University Library for providing the book and quiet place to read and write this review. In addition, the quality of this review was enhanced by the edits of YN1 Gavin Irby, USN currently serving with an aviation squadron at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia.