What Every American Should Know About North Africa

Abstract

The current crisis North Africa is only the most recent in a long series. Indeed, ever since 1945, North Africa has been in a state of chronic crisis—a crisis which, though varying in degree of acuteness as Algeria, Tunis, and Morocco have alternated in occupying the center of the stage, has throughout had an unmistakable underlying unity. Not only are the three countries of the Maghreb (Arabic for West) intimately bound together by the ties of culture, race, religion, language, and geographical proximity, they have also been engaged in the same struggle for national liberation from their common oppressor, French imperialism. It is therefore impossible to consider the current Algerian situation in isolation from previous developments in the area as a whole.

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