Foreign Policy In North Africa

Foreign Policy in North Africa explores how the foreign policies of North African states, which occupy a peripheral and subaltern position within the global system, have actively responded to the constraints and opportunities stemming from multi-level transformations in the 2010s. What has been the extent of continuity and change in each country’s foreign policy-making and behaviour under such conditions? Which structural and agential factors explain the variations observed, or the lack thereof? Building on scholarship on foreign policy in the Global South and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as well as the international impact of the 2011 Arab uprisings, case studies on six different countries focus on a specific level of analysis for each. These range from the global (Tunisia’s financial predicaments and foreign debt negotiations) through the (sub)regional (Egypt’s relationship of necessity with Saudi Arabia, Algeria’s half-hearted policies towards the conflicts in Libya and Mali) to the domestic sphere (Morocco’s power balance between the monarchy and the Islamist-led government, Libya’s extreme state weakness and internal competition among proliferating actors), reaching also the deeper non-state societal level in the case of Mauritania. The volume concludes by examining post-2011 developments in the longstanding Algerian–Moroccan rivalry which hinders regional integration in the Maghreb. Foreign Policy in North Africa will be of great interest to scholars of North African politics and international relations, Middle Eastern and North African studies, foreign policy and global international relations. The chapters were originally published as a special issue of The Journal of North African Studies.

Since 1969 when Colonel Mu'ammar al-Qadhdhafi came to power through a military coup, Libya has been the focus of a great deal of attention. Its experiments with nation building have been viewed with curiosity and its foreign policy with dismay by Western analysts. Much has been written to explain Libya's international and domestic behavior, but des

North Africa, comprising Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya, is of particular strategic and economics importance to both the United States and the Soviet Union. Richard B. Parker provides an informed perspective on the problems facing the region with special emphasis on the U.S. interests there. Beginning with histories of the four states, Parker examines their common features and individual differences, showing that each retains distinct reacial, historical, and economic personalities. He also discusses the various elements that influence affairs in each of the states and explores the numerous policy issues and possible courses of action. Separate chapters are devoted to the effects of the Islamic fundamentalist movement, the guerrilla war in the Western Sahara, and foreign powers on the states of North Africa.

This bibliography, first published in 1990, is a result of a quarter-century professional and personal relationship between two academics interested in Middle East studies. The comprehensive bibliography consists of western, primarily English, language sources published through 1988 and early 1989 concerning foreign policy toward the Middle East and North Africa during the twentieth century. Included are materials that deal directly with the topic, material that has appeared in published form, ie books, monographs, essays and articles. Also included are some non-published items, most importantly American and British doctoral dissertations and master’s theses.

This book examines U.S. foreign policy decision-making and conduct from a psychological perspective that focuses on the structures as well as the content of mental images held collectively and individually by the foreign policy elite. Two case studies, arms sales to Morocco in the context of the Western Sahara war and liquefied natural gas contracts with Algeria, are used to illustrate the usefulness of this perspective. The methodological tool used is of Cognitive Mapping, which consists of reconstructing mental images relevant to the issues examined by way of a sophisticated method that dissects policy statements, breaks them down into concepts with causal linkages, and then feeds them into a computer program that uncovers important characteristics for each image. The author then makes interesting inferences linking these technical characteristics of cognitive maps, or images, to policy orientations and action. The case studies analyzed with this method relate to U.S. foreign policy with regard to North Africa. The author tries to find answers to a set of empirical questions that have not often been addressed: Why have U.S. foreign policy makers ignored North African countries for so long in spite of their strategic location and natural resources? Why do radical images persist when there have been opportunities to negotiate rationally with the countries of that region? And why did the U.S. government reverse itself in 1979 when it decided to sell offensive weapons to Morocco in spite of U.S. and international restrictions, and in spite of some obvious potential negative effects of these sales on regional conflicts and on U.S. standing in the area? Also, why did the biggest economic deal the U.S. has ever had with a Third World country (Algeria) fail as soon as President Reagan came into office? These empirical questions are tackled along with theoretical concerns dealing with the subjective domain of foreign policy making. The framework used for the analysis of the historical data and the interviews conducted yielded interesting conclusions as to how foreign policy makers viewed the North African region, its countries, and the issues at stake. The methodology used explains, through simple graphs and indices of complexity and simplicity of mental structures, how situations were defined and responded to by various U.S. administrations. The results show how unconscious thought processes and specific categories of cognitive structures may affect the choice of a policy alternative, and demonstrate the role of images as intervening variables between the international environment and state behavior. This book should appeal to students and scholars of foreign policy, international relations, negotiations, and North African politics. Political scientists interested in computer modeling will also find in it interesting propositions.

In the aftermath of the turmoil that shook North Africa in late 2010 and early 2011, commentators and analysts have sought explanations to the factors that triggered the uprisings and to understand why a region, seemingly characterized by relative stability for decades, would suddenly erupt in convulsions. Had an underlying dynamism in the region overwhelmed what were ostensibly stable authoritarian regimes? What were the connections to events and dynamics beyond the region, such as countries in the Middle East, international commodity markets, and environmental factors, amongst others? Why had allies abetted authoritarianism for so long, and what were the implications for such alliances? North African Politics: Change and continuity brings together experts to explore these questions, providing in-depth analyses of important developments in the region, which build upon and complement the 2008 companion volume, North Africa: Politics, Region and the Limits of Transformation. This 21-chapter volume is a key contribution that responds to the need in the Anglo-American sphere for sustained, critical studies on North Africa and examines political, economic, security, social and military aspects of the region. Focused studies on individual countries allow detailed discussion of regional factors. The book also examines extrinsic, trans-regional dynamics, such as North Africa’s influential interdependencies with the Levant and the Gulf, Europe, Sahelian and sub-Saharan Africa, and North America. Its innovative approach provides new perspectives on North Africa, extending its research scope to include Egypt and exploring China’s evolving role in the region. Providing an important contribution in the assessment of the ever-shifting political and social tectonics within and beyond North Africa, North African Politics is an essential resource for students, scholars and policy makers in Middle Eastern and North African Studies, and beyond.

Since December 2010, a series of uprisings, revolutions, coups and civil wars have shaken up the Middle East and North Africa region. In this chaotic political environment, several countries have been trying to influence this regional transformation. The implications of this transformation are of great importance for the region, its people and global politics. Using a rich combination of primary and secondary sources, elite interviews and content analysis, Yasemin Akbaba and Özgür Özdamar apply role theory to analyze ideational (e.g. identity, religion) and material (e.g. security, economy) sources of national role conceptions in Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The authors take a closer look at the transformation of these four powers’ foreign policies since the beginning of Arab uprisings, with a specific focus on religion. Each case study is written to a common template allowing for clear comparative analyses. Written in a clear and accessible style, Role Theory in the Middle East and North Africa offers a thought provoking and pioneering insight into the usefulness of role theory in foreign policy making in the developing world. The perfect combination of theoretically oriented and empirically rich analysis make this volume an ideal resource for scholars and researchers of International Relations, Foreign Policy, Middle East Politics and International Security.

A collection of essays designed to explore the nature and causes of misconceived and often misguided western attitudes towards the people and institutions of North Africa over a period of roughly one and a half centuries. Throughout their essays, the contributors highlight the double standards of previous western authors about the Maghrib, noting their emphasis on North African superstitions and cruelties and their failure to compare them with those practiced in the European world.