Algeria nation, culture and transnationalism, 1988-2015

295 Pages·2017·2.11 MB·English

by  Patrick Crowley

AlgeriA
Nation, Culture and Transnationalism
1988–2015
FrANCOPHONe POSTCOlONiAl STUDieS
The annual publication of the Society for Francophone Postcolonial Studies
New Series, Vol. 8
Francophone Postcolonial Studies
The annual publication of the Society for Francophone Postcolonial Studies
The Society for Francophone Postcolonial Studies (SFPS) is an international
association which exists in order to promote, facilitate and otherwise support the
work of all scholars and researchers working on colonial/postcolonial studies in the
French-speaking world. SFPS was created in 2002 with the aim of continuing and
developing the pioneering work of its predecessor organization, the Association for
the Study of Caribbean and African literature in French (ASCAlF). SFPS does not
seek to impose a monolithic understanding of the ‘postcolonial’ and it consciously
aims to appeal to as diverse a range of members as possible, in order to engage in
wide-ranging debate on the nature and legacy of colonialism in and beyond the
French-speaking world. SFPS encourages work of a transcultural, transhistorical,
comparative and interdisciplinary nature. it implicitly seeks to decolonize the term
‘Francophone’, emphasizing that it should refer to all cultures where French is spoken
(including, of course, France itself), and it encourages a critical reflection on the
nature of the cognate disciplines of French studies, on the one hand, and anglophone
postcolonial studies, on the other.
Our vision for this new publication with liverpool University Press is that each
volume will constitute a sort of état present on a significant topic, embracing various
expressions of Francophone postcolonial cultures (e.g. literature, film, music, history),
in relation to pertinent geographical areas (e.g. France/Belgium, the Caribbean,
Africa, the indian Ocean, Asia, Polynesia) and different periods (slavery, colonialism,
the postcolonial era, etc.): above all, we are looking to publish research that will help
to set new research agendas across our field. The editorial board of Francophone
Postcolonial Studies invites proposals for edited volumes touching on any of the
areas listed above; proposals should be sent to Dr Charlotte Baker (c.baker@lancaster.
ac.uk). For further details, visit www.sfps.ac.uk.
General Editor: Dr Charlotte Baker (lancaster University, UK)
Editorial Board
Chris Bongie (Queen’s University, Canada)
Charles Forsdick (University of liverpool, UK)
Pierre-Philippe Fraiture (University of Warwick, UK)
Alec Hargreaves (Florida State University, USA)
Jane Hiddleston (exeter College, Oxford, UK)
Nicki Hitchcott (University of Nottingham, UK)
lydie Moudileno (University of Pennsylvania, USA)
Jean-Marc Moura (Université Paris Ouest, France)
David Murphy (University of Stirling, UK)
ieme van der Poel (University of Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Srilata ravi (University of Alberta, Canada)
Andy Stafford (University of leeds, UK)
Dominic Thomas (UClA, USA)
AlgeriA
Nation, Culture and Transnationalism
1988–2015
edited by
Patrick Crowley
Algeria: Nation, Culture and Transnationalism
liverpool University Press
First published 2017 by
liverpool University Press
4 Cambridge Street
liverpool
l69 7ZU
Copyright © 2017 liverpool University Press and the Society for Francophone
Postcolonial Studies
The right of Patrick Crowley to be identified as the editor of this book has been
asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the
publisher.
British library Cataloguing-in-Publication data
A British library CiP record is available
print iSBN 978-1-78694-021-6 cased
epdf iSBN 978-1-78694-809-0

Typeset by Carnegie Book Production, lancaster
Contents
Contents
Illustrations vii
Acknowledgements viii
Abbreviations ix
Introduction
Algeria: Nation, Culture and Transnationalism 1988–2015 1
Patrick Crowley
Nation, State and Society
in the Shadow of revolution 27
James McDougall
Algeria’s ‘Belle Époque’: Memories of the 1970s as a Window on
the Present 46
Ed McAllister
The Many (im)possibilities of Contemporary Algerian Judaïtés 63
Samuel Sami Everett
1988–1992: Multipartism, islamism and the Descent into Civil War 81
Malika Rahal
v
vi Algeria: Nation, Culture and Transnationalism
Algerian Heritage Associations: National identity and rediscovering
the Past 101
Jessica Ayesha Northey
Cultural Mediations
Writing in the Aftermath of Two Wars: Algerian Modernism and the
Génération ’88 123
Corbin Treacy
The Persistence of the image, the lacunae of History: The Archive
and Contemporary Art in Algeria (1992–2012) 140
Fanny Gillet
Music, Borders and Nationhood in Algeria 162
Tony Langlois
Algerian Youth on the Move. Capoeira, Street Dance and Parkour:
Between integration and Contestation 184
Britta Hecking
Sport in Algeria – from National Self-assertion to
Anti-state Contestation 203
Philip Dine
Beyond France-Algeria: The Algerian Novel and the Transcolonial
imagination 222
Olivia C. Harrison
Afterword
Performing Algerianness: The National and Transnational
Construction of Algeria’s ‘Culture Wars’ 243
Walid Benkhaled and Natalya Vince
Notes on Contributors 271
Index 275
illustrations
illustrations
Table 1. Wilayas with the highest density of cultural associations 104

Figure 6.1. Wilayas with the highest density of cultural associations
in Algeria (associations per 100,000 inhabitants). 105
Figure 8.1. rachida Azdaou, Archives d’Alger, 2010. 143
Figure 8.2. Amina Menia, Enclosed (display cabinet, issiakhem), 2013. 145
Figure 8.3. Ammar Bouras, Iatirafate irhabi, 1996. 147
Figure 8.4. Ammar Bouras, Tag’Out (detail), 2011. 148
Figure 8.5. Mustapha Sedjal, Un seul héros le peuple … mon père,
2012–2013. 151
Figure 8.6. Mustapha Sedjal, Nedjma. L’éternel retour, 1994. 152
Figure 8.7. Sofiane Zouggar, Time Machine, 2012. 154
Figure 8.8. Fatima Chafaâ, Générique, 2012. 157
vii
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
i would like to acknowledge the support of the irish research Council for the
award of a government of ireland Senior research Fellowship in 2011. Megan
C. MacDonald was irCHSS postdoctoral fellow on the project and made
a vital contribution to its success. This publication follows from research
undertaken in 2011–2012 and since. it also benefited from the sabbatical leave
policy put in place by University College Cork (UCC) which enabled research
and editing to be undertaken at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in
2015–2016. i am grateful for the support and encouragement i received
from colleagues in the Department of French and the School of languages,
literatures and Cultures at UCC.
i would also like to thank the executive of the Society for Francophone
Postcolonial Studies, in particular Nicki Hitchcott, Charlotte Baker, Charles
Forsdick and the anonymous readers from the Francophone Postcolonial
Studies editorial Board who carefully read the initial proposal and eventual
chapters and provided feedback which greatly contributed to making this
volume better. Anthony Cond and the production team at liverpool University
Press have been a pleasure to work with and continue to set the benchmark
for academic publishing. Thanks also to rachel Adamson and all at Carnegie
Book Production for their professionalism. emily Harding, once again, has
done a wonderful job in designing a cover illustration that flags the contents
and maintains the look of the excellent FPS series.
Finally, i own a debt to the contributors to this volume for the generosity
of their collaboration, their stimulating scholarship and their enduring
commitment to the project.
viii
Abbreviations
Abbreviations
CNCD Coordination Nationale pour le Changement et la Démocratie
[National Coordination for Change and Democracy]
CNSA Comité National pour la Sauvegarde de l’Algérie [National
Committee for the Protection of Algeria]
DrS Direction du renseignement de la Sécurité [Military
intelligence Services]
eNA Étoile Nord Africain [Star of North Africa]
FAUeD Femmes Algériennes Unies pour l’Égalité des Droits [Algerian
Women United for equal rights]
FCNAFA Festival Culturel National Annuel du Film Amazigh [Annual
National Cultural Festival of Amazigh Film]
FFS Front des Forces Socialistes [Socialist Forces Front]
FiS Front islamique du Salut [islamic Salvation Front]
FlN Front de libération Nationale [National liberation Front]
giS groupement d’intervention Spécial [Special intervention group]
HCA Haut Commissariat à l’Amazighité [High Commission for
Amazigh Affairs]
HCe Haut Comité d’État [High Committee of State]
MAK Mouvement pour l’Autodétermination de la Kabylie
[Mouvement for Kabylie Self-determination]
ix
x Algeria: Nation, Culture and Transnationalism
MNr Mouvement National pour la renaissance [National Movement
for renaissance], islamist party
MSP Mouvement pour la Société et la Paix [Movement for Society
and Peace] (formerly HAMAS), islamist party
MTlD Mouvement pour la Triomphe des libertés Démocratiques
[Movement for the Triumph of Democratic liberties]
OAS Organisation Armée Secrète (OAS) [Secret Army
Organization], Pro-French Algeria paramilitary group
OS Organisation Spéciale [Special Organization]. led to the
eventual formation of the FlN
PAgS Parti de l’Avant-garde Socialiste [Party of Avant-garde
Socialism], Marxist party
PPA Parti du Peuple Algérien [The Algerian People’s Party]
PT Parti des Travailleurs [Workers’ Party]
rCD rassemblement pour la Culture et la Démocratie [rally for
Culture and Democracy]
rND rassemblement National Démocratique [rally for National
Democracy]
SiT Syndicat islamique du Travail [islamic Workers’ Union]
UDMA Union Démocratique du Manifeste Algérien [Democratic Union
of the Algerian Manifesto]
UgTA Union générale des Travailleurs Algériens [general Union of
Algerian Workers]
UMA Union du Maghreb Arabe [Arab Maghreb Union]
UNJA Union Nationale de la Jeunesse Algérienne [National Union of
Algerian Youth]