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| Volume XIV, Winter 2007, Number 4 |
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| Editor's Note |
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With so much journalistic and academic attention focused on the conflict in Iraq, the
ongoing Israeli-Palestinian struggle, Lebanon and other places of interest in the Middle
East, North Africa has been relatively neglected. Yet we believe it is a region of major
significance for both policy makers and scholars. For this reason, we proposed to the
editor of Middle East Policy, Anne Joyce, a special issue of the journal that would focus
on significant themes and trends that demarcate the region: political change, economic
development, cross-border affairs within the region, relations with states outside of the
area, gender, religious currents and civil-military interactions.
We invited a group of well-known scholars to prepare articles that would capture the
latest in thinking about these issue-areas: Clement Henry of the University of Texas at
Austin, Gregory White of Smith College, John Entelis of Fordham University, Louisa Dris-
Aït-Hamadouche of the University of Algiers, David S. Sorenson of the U.S. Air War
College, Yahia Zoubir of EuroMed and Christopher Hemmer of the U.S. Air War College.
We asked them to use a comparative framework, which would allow for an examination
of the issues across the four countries of Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. In addition
to these articles, we accepted several excellent pieces with a single-country focus that
Anne Joyce had forwarded to us for our consideration. The authors are I. William
Zartman of Johns Hopkins University, Dafna Hochman of Columbia University, Mark
Katz of George Mason University, and Guilain Denoeux of Colby College.
Clearly, North Africa is a dynamic area in which significant transformations are
occurring alongside constancies that have existed for decades, if not centuries. While
relations among the North African countries are relatively stable, the conflict over the
Western Sahara continues to be a major source of tension. Relations between North
Africa and the rest of the world remain in flux. European countries (notably France, Spain
and Italy) and the European Union remain strongly engaged in North Africa while Russia,
China and the United States are eyeing the region with growing interest. Internally,
political and social change has been slow to develop although there are some signs of
movement. Algeria appears to be transitioning to a more participatory polity after years of
military rule, and Libya is moving from a closed economy to integration with the outside
world. Civil-military relations in certain North African countries are evolving, as indicated
by the retreat of the Algerian military from overt political control. Corruption remains a
serious issue in North Africa, sapping both resources and public support for regimes. The
mosaic of Islam, the predominant religion in North Africa, also remains in flux, with strains
of both reform and radicalism.
The recent terrorist actions in Algeria and Morocco and the greater visibility of the
newly named Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb may presage growing unrest in the region.
While some observers focus on the persistence of "radical Islam," others suggest that
North Africa features competing visions of Islam. These include a liberalizing strain that
contributes to more open spaces for women than in other more conservative parts of the
Arab world, though restrictions remain. Economic progress has been more robust in petroleum-producing countries, though the distribution of benefits to the population remains
uneven. Privatized economies do offer more potential for growth, but they may also
empower new economic elites whose aspirations may drive deeper wedges between rich
and poor. Increasing economic and political ties to Europe, in particular, bring not only
tourist and investor revenues, but also potentially unsettling social changes. And in all
spheres, regional integration largely remains a lofty but unattained aspiration.
We were gratified by the depth and currency of the ideas and analysis in all of the
articles. It is our hope that this special edition of Middle East Policy helps to further the
discussion and debate on a vital part of the world, and we thank Anne Joyce for the
opportunity to engage the region.
Pia Christina Wood
David S. Sorenson
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