Yahia H. Zoubir

Conflicting International Policies and the Western Sahara Stalemate

The Western Sahara conflict is a 32-year old case of decolonisation that has been on the UN Security Councils agenda since 1991. Despite the straightforwardness of the stalemate in terms of international legality, the UN has been unable to implement its own provisions on the issue. The UNs failure is due to the contradictions arising from the interaction throughout the conflict between international law and geopolitics. Moroccos supporters in the UNSC have not only allowed it to systematically violate international law but have encouraged Morocco to formalise its irredentism through its “Autonomy Initiative”. This behaviour is perilous not only for the stability of the Maghreb but for the UN system as well.

North Africa in Transition: State, Society, and Economic Transformation in the 1990s

This collection of essays addresses the major problems of the Maghreb countries - Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya - have faced since 1968 and the cultural and economic issues facing them today.

The Western Sahara Conflict: Regional and International Dimensions

King Hassan II of Morocco informed the French press in December 1988 that he was willing to talk to the Frente Popular para la Liberacion de Saguia el-Hamra y Rio de Oro , known as the Polisario Front, which had been waging a war of national independence during the previous 15 years. Although the Moroccan Sovereign insisted that the subsequent meetings which took place on 4–5 January 1989 in Marrakesh constituted ‘discussions’ rather than ‘negotiations’, they undoubtedly represented a breakthrough in what has been dubbed by many as the ‘forgotten war’, not least because the mere acknowledgement of the Fronts existence was in itself a de facto recognition of the Sahrawi liberation movement.

The United States and the North African Imbroglio: Balancing Interests in Algeria, Morocco, and the Western Sahara

In this article, US policy towards the Western Sahara conflict is analysed from a geopolitical perspective. It is postulated that after 9/11, the US favoured a “compromise” that, while still favourable to Moroccos interests, offered Algeria and the Polisario Front a way out of the stalemate. Acceptance of the Baker Plan II would seem to promise a reawakening of the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA). Because the conflict is seen as an obstacle to other strategic goals, US hegemonic power seeks a solution that would continue to strongly safeguard Moroccos interests while also consolidating the pronounced rapprochement with Algeria. The objective is the establishment of a regional trade bloc.

Algeria's elections: The prelude to democractisation

ABSTRACT Faced with a political stalemate which paralysed Algerias political life when the military intervened to cancel the results of the December 1991 election, the authorities have been searching for a way to return to the democratic process. General Zeroual, appointed President in January 1994, and his collaborators have introduced a series of political reforms aimed at establishing a working democratic system. Algeria and its rulers seem to have learned from the failure of the first democratic transition (1989-92). The creation of a second chamber in the parliament, changing the electoral law and the imposition of restraints on political parties were intended to avoid the mistakes made previously and have the potential of moving the country away from the political crisis it has experienced since January 1992.

Stalled democratization of an authoritarian regime: The case of Algeria

Algeria has experienced important transformations since the bloody riots of October 1988. Numerous political reforms have been initiated, due to the pressure exerted by an emerging civil society; also the regime has been subject to fragmentation, thus exacerbating the power struggle among various political clans. The now‐banned Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), emerging as the most powerful party, eclipsed the old ruling party, the National Liberation Front (FLN). Algerian society today is completely polarized while the intensification of violence since the interruption of the political process, in January 1992, has prolonged the political stalemate. This article deals with the reasons why the authoritarian rulers initiated a process of democratization in the first place: the principal political reforms; the contending parties in the political arena; the reasons for the initial popularity of the FIS and the tactics used by factions of the FLN‐State to prolong the life of the old regime. Also the role of the ...

Libya and Europe: Economic Realism at the Rescue of the Qaddafi Authoritarian Regime

Relations between Libya and the West in general, and with the members of the European Union, in particular, have always been ambivalent and tense. Libyas foreign policy, founded on radical Arab nationalism, its support for revolutionary and terrorist movements across the globe, as well as its relentless opposition to ‘United States imperialism’, resulted in costly enmities. Qaddafis erratic and atypical behaviour caused suspicions regarding the intentions of the country often accused of being a sponsor of state terrorism. Worse still, the Lockerbie (1988) and the UTA (1989) bombings resulted in severe and quite costly sanctions imposed by the United Nations, the United States and the European countries, most of which had severed diplomatic relations with Libya in the late 1980s. Even if the unilateral sanctions the United States imposed upon Libya brought Europeans and Americans to loggerheads, especially as pertaining to commercial interactions, this did not allow Libya to break its international isolation. However, since 1999, relations between Libya and the Western world have undergone a remarkable turnaround. This article reviews the evolution of Libyas relations with the European countries and analyses the reasons which have allowed the recent enhancement of relations between the Jamahiriya and the northern neighbours. Commercial, energy, and security issues are among the main factors which elucidate these developments.

The End of the Libyan Dictatorship: The Uncertain Transition

Abstract The 42-year dictatorship in Libya finally collapsed in October 2011; it took the Western-backed armed uprising seven months of intensive fighting to defeat Qaddafis loyalist forces. The fall of the Qaddafi regime is a welcome development in the Middle East and North Africa region. But, unlike Tunisia or Egypt, Libya does not have a standing army or a reliable potential force that can bring the necessary stability for a political transition. The tribal nature of the country and the difficulty of disarming the rebels and other groups pose serious challenges to the new authorities in Tripoli. Unless these issues are handled effectively, Libya will undergo a long period of unpredictability.

Algerian‐Moroccan relations and their impact on Maghribi integration

Overall, Algerian‐Moroccan relations have always been at odds, the existence since 1989 of the Arab Maghrib Union (UMA) notwithstanding. In fact, the UMA has not been operational due precisely to tension between the two countries. Strained relations derive from a historical and post‐colonial evolution ‐ dominated by power politics ‐of which Western Sahara is only one, albeit major, aspect. Thus, a definitive resolution of the Western Sahara conflict will not necessarily mean a definitive ending of the distrust that exists between the two neighbours. However, the core argument in this article is that resolution of the conflict in Western Sahara would greatly improve cooperation between the two countries, thus facilitating regional integration. Furthermore, given the complexity of both the Algerian‐Moroccan relationship and conflict in Western Sahara, any foreign interference that is not balanced will continue poisoning relations and could potentially destabilise the entire region.

International dimensions of the Western Sahara conflict

Introduction Origins and Development of the Conflict in the Western Sahara by Yahia H. Zoubir Spain, France, and the Western Sahara: A Historical Narrative and Study of National Transformation by Phillip C. Naylor The United States in the Saharan War: A Case of Low-Intensity Intervention by Stephen Zunes U.S. Strategic Interests and the War in the Western Sahara by Richard B. Parker Moscow, the Maghreb, and Conflict in the Western Sahara by Yahia H. Zoubir The Western Sahara: International Legal Issues by Beth A. Payne The Role of Foreign Military Assistance in the Western Sahara War by Daniel Volman The Greater Maghreb and the Western Sahara by Robert A. Mortimer The Proposed Referendum in the Western Sahara: Background, Developments, and Prospects by Anthony G. Pazzanita The Western Sahara Conflict in the Post-Cold War Era by Yahia H. Zoubir and Daniel Volman Glossary Selected Bibliography Index