Algeria’s Ability to Unify the Arabs is Doubtful.
Ahmed Fathi \ New York \ Newslooks
It has been questioned if Algeria is capable of uniting the Arabs, and just this week there have been discussions inside Arab diplomatic circles about the prospect of postponing the Arab League Summit slated for the beginning of November. Algeria has reached the point where it is irritated by this sudden campaign because it has arrived at this moment after all the preparations it has made to host the conference.
Algeria’s continued adoption of positions that are not always indicative of good neighborly or good order in inter-Arab relations, such as its longstanding conflict with Morocco because of its support to the Polisario over Western Sahara, to Libya while crossing the line and countering Egypt’s interests, and a recent visit by Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to Algiers, which Egypt perceives as a blatant escalation due to its dispute regarding the effects of the Grand Renaissance Dam-GERD on its water supply that represents an existential threat to its people.
Aside from that, there are several more factors to consider. Its links with Iran, its alliance with Syria, which was formed under Russian auspices, and its reluctance to support the Gulf Arab regimes led by Saudi Arabia, are some of the factors that have contributed to its current condition. Also, it has criticized the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco for signing the Abraham Accords peace treaties with Israel, and it has promised to help hardline Palestinian groups that oppose the PA Authority and the chances of peace in the region.
Algeria is still mired in the sentimentality of the 1960s, and its leaders continue to utilize emotional rhetoric that incites the nation’s sentiments. It’s a refusal to admit that it has been sixty years since its independence, a period in which there has been no chance of turning back the clock. Instead, Algeria is doing all it can to keep its people insulated from the abrupt shifts that the world has experienced over the last six decades, which have given the Military Junta justification to continue ruling the nation.
Algeria has been a client state of Russia for a long time, as shown by the fact that the country’s purchases of Russian weaponry have been increasing year after year, making it Africa’s largest arms importer. Furthermore, Russia has amassed significant influence with the Algerian generals, who rule the country and are the de-facto holders of power.
In addition to the Middle East and North Africa, Russia and Algeria interact and operate in other regions of Africa, such as Mali, which is the location of Algeria’s largest intelligence station outside of its borders. Furthermore, it is no surprise that Algeria and the military contracting company Wagner collaborate closely with both the Malian government and the Libyan factions, and that their actions regularly overlap. This is due to the fact that their connections benefit all involved parties.
Algeria has been catapulted into the international limelight as a direct and immediate result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Algeria is now the focus of worldwide attention as a result of this. This is because Algeria is one of the Middle East and North African nations that produces a significant amount of energy, and as a result, its importance is expanding as a consequence of this. Algeria’s earnings from the sale of oil and natural gas have increased.
Algeria is a wealthy country and the recent revenue from the sale of oil and natural gas has increased. It currently ranks tenth in the world in terms of the amount of oil exported and fourth in terms of the quantity of natural gas exported. It holds the rank of the third largest economy in the Middle East and North Africa. Although it is a prosperous nation, one-third of its 40 million people live in abject poverty, and the minimum wage is roughly $1,800 per year. With the latest visit of French President Emanuel Macron, who wants to start a new chapter in the country’s post-colonial past and turn it into a new track, European partners have been flocking to the country’s capital to try to get more energy supplies for Europe’s energy-starved markets.
In an attempt to placate the opposition of the Gulf States, Algeria has consented to the removal of the agenda item on re-admitting Syria back into the Arab League following a phone call between the Foreign Ministers of Algeria and Syria.
However, I don’t believe that this will be enough, as other objections continue to be raised all the way from Morocco on the Atlantic coast to the shores of the Gulf passing through the Nile Valley and the largest Arabic-speaking country, which is Egypt. As long as these issues are not resolved, the wagons of peace and development will not be delayed to accommodate the nostalgic generals.
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