A Brief Analysis of Algeria's Turbulent Independence

Colonial history and revisionist history both deny the common history of France and Algeria and the closely related events of the two nations. During the Algerian war of independence France saw five regime changes in the course of seven years, a direct result of a conflict with much opposition from the French populace.

When France invaded the Suez canal in a joint operation with the British, a large motivation was the intent to remove Nasser from office as he was seen as a strong supporter of Algerian nationalism.

To understand the turbulence of modern Algeria and the post-independence Arabization movement, the lingering tensions created by French colonialism and the common history of the nations must first be understood. Algeria's need to legitimize itself as a nation-state was the persuasive influence on government actions following independence.

The early years were marked by a movement toward Arabization, Arab Islam and the nationalization of history in order to discredit the colonialist heritage. During the 1980s transformations began to take place as the population desired freedom of self-expression and non-Arab minorities (primarily the Berbers) began to assert themselves.

Beginning with independence the desire for Arabization emerged. When the Evian Accords were signed in 1962, Algeria consisted of a largely rural and uneducated population incapable of filling the void left by the disappearance of the educated French elite. Among the majority of the population, independence in many aspects signaled little change from the way things were before. In lieu of the colonialist French bourgeois elite came a new, Arab elite, while most common people continued to live in extreme poverty.