From Algeria to Sudan, a New Lease of Life for Arab Springs

July 13, 2019 12:28 PM

What is happening in Sudan and Algeria is not a repetition of Arab springs, but a wave that learns from the lessons and mistakes of the past.
posted by Ahmad Khani (3 comments total)

I read this fascinating article on football clubs as a site of political protest and organization in Algeria recently and came away wondering how football became such an important arena for political engagement. This article sheds some light on the matter:

"[Algeria] has suffered violent dispossessions that create an even greater [than many other Arab countries] sense of resentment against a state no longer able or willing to provide economic opportunities and political voice. Those dispossessions have been generational, ranging from the war of independence to the 1980s economic turmoil, and to the 1990s civil war and the repression of the Kabyle movement in the 2000s. The imperative of state security during all these episodes eviscerated Algerian civil society, such that few labor unions, student movements, and civic groups could ever be independent of state power."
posted by congen at 2:17 PM on July 13, 2019 [2 favorites]

I really don't understand the argument that "counterrevolutionary" forces are trying to create instability, while progressive forces support continued military rule.
posted by Joe in Australia at 5:47 PM on July 13, 2019

"They know that simply toppling presidents is no longer enough. Now, they must mobilize against entire systems of governance that implicate the military, bureaucracy, and conservative factions embedded within the state."

Thank you for posting. I've been interested in learning more about Algeria, and this article spurs my interest more. There seem some parallels to Korean politics. My family left Korea in part because of political repression during the decades of military dictatorship, but they tell me that there had been real hope during the "April 19" protests in 1960 that forced the autocratic President Rhee to resign, only to have military coup take power in 1961.
posted by spamandkimchi at 11:02 AM on July 14, 2019 [1 favorite]