[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on the Maghreb and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Maghreb Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week`s roundup to maghreb@jadaliyya.com by Thursday night of every week.]
Algeria
Sellal returns as Algerian prime minister Mohammad Charraq, Hamid Yess, and Othman Lehiani report on the nomination of Abdelmalek Sellal as Algeria’s new Prime Minister.
Algerian forces catch terror cell Khalid Boudieh describes Algeria’s counter-terror efforts, focused on the southern border with Mali.
Two Activists Arrested During Electoral Crackdown in Algeria Abdou Semmar reveals the arrests of two young activists in Algeria, sentenced to a year of unsuspended prison in Algiers.
Coordination militaire discrète entre Paris et Alger dans le Sahel Jean-Pierre Séréni outlines a new friendliness in the security relationship between France and Algeria.
Libya
La liberté d`information attaquée sans relâche Reporters Without Borders continues to express the highest degree of concern over the state of freedom of information in Libya.
Libya’s Faustian Bargains: Breaking the Appeasement Cycle In a report for the Atlantic Council, Mohamed Eljarh, Jason Peck, and Karim Mezran conclude that the erosion in Libya’s political and security situations are a result of the appeasement of destabilizing actors.
How ‘Benghazi’ Birthed the New Normal in Africa Nick Turse highlights increase United States military presence in Africa, particularly since the downfall of Gaddafi, and the implications of blowback.
Libya interim PM faces “legitimacy” challenges Khalid Mahmoud reports on the fraught election of a new Libyan Prime Minister.
كرامة ليبيا التي لا تعلم عنها الدولة شيئاً Blogger Kshbook offers insight into the recent violence in Benghazi’s outskirts.
Mauritania
Activists Push Back on Mauritania`s Information Society Law Ahmed Jedou outlines the discussion around a new repressive information law; the law would prohibit encryption.
Mauritanian Police Clamps Down on Black Protest Ahmed Jedou reports on the police repression of a demonstration commemorating the 2008 return of Mauritanian refugees from Senegal.
Morocco
إيمان الرازي الناشطة الحقوقية والأكاديمية المغربية لـــ الزمان حكومة بنكيران عالجت العنف في الجامعات بشكل فردي والمذكرة تجلد تياراً سياسياً In this interview with Azzaman, activist and scholar Iman al-Razi describes the centrality of universities to political activism.
Le système éducatif marocain : histoire d’un échec Ismael Zniber describes the faulty education system in Morocco, showing cleavages in language of instruction, public-private, and geography.
Maroc, la difficile recherche de l’unité syndicale Reda Zaireg explores the landscape of union organizing in Morocco, which struggles for solidarity.
Tunisia
Tunisia PM seeks to strengthen ties with Algiers Synda Tajine reports on the increasingly close ties between Tunisia and Algeria; in his recent visit to Algiers, Jomaa signed 250 million dollars of contracts with the neighboring country.
Excluding the Old Regime: Political Participation in Tunisia Karina Piser and Rim Dhaouadi describe the Tunisian government’s efforts to distance itself from the old regime while still maintaining institutional stability.
Ce nouveau code d’investissement qui fait la part belle aux impérialismes ! Yassine Bellamine explains a problematic new investment law, purported to help stimulate the Tunisian economy, but which activists fear may open Tunisia up to exploitation.
Western Sahara
Trouble in the Western Sahara Tom Stevenson provides a review of the edited volume Perspectives on the Western Sahara: Myths, Nationalisms, and Geopolitics, highlighting the problematic omission of some of the most destructive myths propagated by the Moroccan regime.
Research student’s Saharan nightmare Joanna Allan, a board member of the NGO Western Sahara Resource Watch recounts her harassment by the Moroccan authorities in Western Sahara.
`Hay gente que se está beneficiando del conflicto del Sáhara Occidental` Ana del Barrio speaks with Maghreb page co-editor Samia Errazzouki and Moroccan artist-activist Youness Belghazi on the situation in the Western Sahara.
Recent Jadaliyya Articles on the Maghreb
Subaltern is not Voiceless—They Sing: Learning from Migrants’ Cultural Production Maghreb page co-editor Allison L McManus outlines new lines of inquiry in studying migration in North Africa.
Tunisia: Foreign Policy Turns as Short-term Economic Strategy Stefano Maria Torelli situates Prime Minister Jomaa’s recent trip to the United States as part of a strategy to encourage greater investment into the Tunisian economy.
Notes sur l`élection présidentielle algérienne Rémy Ben offers insight into the 2014 Algerian presidential elections. (In English here.)
Event Report-Back -- Reflections on the 22nd Annual Cairo Papers Symposium: Disabilities, Revolution, and the Politics of Hope The American University of Cairo and the Cairo Papers in Social Science held a joint symposium entitled “Disabilities, Revolution, and the Politics of Hope.”
وقفة احتجاجية لعاملات الجنس في تونس Aymen Daboussi offers context on the crackdown on sex workers in Tunisia.
Foucault, Fanon, Intellectuals, Revolutions Anthony Alessandrini addresses the 2011 revolutions through a reading of Foucault and responses to his writings on the Iranian revolution.
الجزائر : لماذا رُشِّح بوتفليقة لعهدة رابعة؟ Yassine Temlali investigates the reasons behind Bouteflika’s nomination, despite his ill health and Algeria’s declining political economy.
`Justifications of Power`: Neoliberalism and the Role of Empire Muriem Haleh-Davis’ article addresses the logic of the French economic empire in Algeria.
The Dangers of Liberalism: Foucault and Postcoloniality in France Dirien Valayden explores the underside of liberalism through the work of Foucault.
Arduous Journeys on Roads Not [Yet] Taken: Language, Neoliberal Work Skills, and the Exhausted Educational Dream Charis Boutieri situates debates over the language of education in Morocco in the specific context of Morocco’s political economy.
About Human Breakage and Fragility Aymen Daboussi poignantly illustrates the challenges presented by mental illness, personally and socially, in a state unable to cope with them.
Human Rights Roadmap for a New Libya Jadaliyya Reports on the Human Rights Watch suggestions for reform and legislation in Libya.
In Conversation with Artist Nadia Ayari Mayamanah Farhat interviews Tunisian artist Nadia Ayari on technique, art history, and political allegory.
Tunisia’s Consensus, or When a Kiss is Just a Kiss After the euphoric moment of the adoption of Tunisia’s constitution, Yasmine Ryan explores the political field as Tunisia manages a faltering economy and upcoming elections.