War in the Mountains: Peasant Society and Counterinsurgency in Algeria, 1918-1958

529 Pages·2020·3.871 MB·English

by  Neil MacMaster

OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,16/9/2020,SPi
War in the Mountains
OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,16/9/2020,SPi
OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,16/9/2020,SPi
War in the Mountains
Peasant Society and Counterinsurgency
–
in Algeria, 1918 1958
NEIL MACMASTER
1
OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,16/9/2020,SPi
3
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OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,16/9/2020,SPi
Acknowledgements
Oneofthegreatpleasuresandrewardsofcarryingoutresearchforthisbookhas
beentheopportunitytomeetsomanyscholars,manynowgoodfriends,without
whoseintellectualandpracticalsupportthisprojectwouldnothavebeenpossible.
This true international community has provided the best antidote to the tide of
reactionary‘littleEnglander’chauvinismthathassweptthroughtheUKinrecent
years. A special thank-you to the following: Emmanuel Blanchard, Salima
Bouaziz, Raphaëlle Branche, †Fanny Colonna, Daho Djerbal, Giuilia Fabbiana,
†Marc Garanger, Christopher Goscha, Abdelkader Guerroudj, Mohammed
Harbi, Jim House, Aïssa Kadri, Annick Lacroix, Aurélien Lignereux, Denis
Leroux, James McDougall, †Gilbert Meynier, Ed Naylor, Malika Rahal, Fabien
Sacriste,JenniferSessions,SylvieThénault,MartinThomas,andNatalyaVince.
ThankstoDidierGuignardinparticularforreadingseveraldraftchaptersand
for the exhilarating exchange of ideas in the cafés of Aix-en-Provence. Mostefa
Benboula and Abdelkader Klouch, under difficult conditions, introduced me to
Chlef,Ténès,andthesurrounding countryside, andthankstoGuillaumeMichel
forhiswelcomeatLesGlycinesinAlgiers.ThelateMichelLaunay,authorofwhat
remainsthefinestbookontheAlgerianpeasantry,tooktimeouttotakemeona
memorable walking tour through the Paris Goutte d’Or. Louis Kergoat, perhaps
the only Frenchman to have lived and worked with mountain peasants in a
forbidden zone interdite, welcomed me in Paris. Likewise thanks go to my
NorwichneighbourPeterGibbsforhisexpertcartographicskills,CathrynSteele
at Oxford University Press for her support in taking on board such a rather
daunting‘big’project,TimothyBeckforhismeticuloushelpwiththecopyediting,
andthetwoanonymousreaderswhoprovidedsuchvaluablecomment.Finally,to
Mary, without whom none of this would have been possible, and for her expert
adviceonphotography.
OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,16/9/2020,SPi
OUPCORRECTEDAUTOPAGEPROOFS–FINAL,16/9/2020,SPi
Contents
ListofPhotographs,Maps,andTables ix
ListofAbbreviations xi
Glossary xiii
Introduction:TowardsaSocialHistoryofPeasantSociety 1
I. THE DUALISM OF THE COLONIAL STATE:
INDIRECT RULE AND THE CRISIS
OF THE COMMUNE MIXTE SYSTEM
1. SeparateWorlds?EuropeanDominationoftheChelifPlain 25
2. SeparateWorlds?PeasantSocietyintheMountains 35
3. ThecaidsandthecommunemixteSystem 56
4. TheJanus-facedPoliticsofthecaids,c.1936to1954 79
5. LucienPaye’scommuneReform:TheFailureofthePeasant
ModernizationProgramme,1944–8 96
II. PEASANT POLITICAL MOBILIZATION AND
CONTESTATION, C.1932–54
6. FractionResistanceasEverydayPolitics 121
7. TheCommunistPartyandPeasantMobilization,c.1932–48 140
8. PeasantOrganizationintheUrbanCentres 156
9. TheBattleforthedouarsandthedjemâaElectionsof1947 173
10. TheNationalistsGoUnderground:ClandestineOrganization
intheOuarsenisMountains,1948–54 200
11. PopularReligion:TheRuralBattleground 228
III. ORGANIZATION OF THE EARLY MAQUIS:
REBEL GOVERNANCE AND FORMATION
OF THE FLN COUNTER-STATE
12. FromEarthquaketo‘RedMaquis’,September1954toJune1956 253
13. TheZitoufiMaquis 271
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viii 
14. OrganizationoftheEarlyALNGuerrilla,1954–7 291
15. CreatingtheFLNCounter-state 304
́
IV. OPERATION PILOTE: ANTHROPOLOGY
GOES TO WAR, 1956–8
16. TheGenesisofOpérationPilote 339
17. PsychologicalWarfareandtheDahraPeasants 370
18. TheArzewCamp:Anthropologyor‘Brainwashing’? 402
19. ModernityorNeo-tribalism?‘ThirdForce’Strategiesinthe
Ouarsenis 426
20. TheregroupementsCampsandtheCollapseofPilote1 451
ConclusionPeasantInsurrection:ANewComparativeAgenda 472
PrimarySourcesandSelectBibliography 485
Index 493
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List of Photographs, Maps, and Tables
Photographs
1. AdministratorsofthecommunemixteofTénès. 59
2. ViewofDuperré. 159
3. PetitionofthedjemâaDahra. 165
4. Deaththreatletter,December1946. 219
5. DouarandfractionsintheMatmatacamp. 468
Maps
1. TheChelifregion. 2
2. EuropeanlandownershipintheChelifValley. 5
3. ThecommunemixteofChelif. 57
4. Thedjemâaelectionsof1947. 189
5. TheDuperréregion. 201
6. ZoneofPilote1operationsintheDahraMountains. 272
Tables
1. PopulationoftheChelifdouars. 58
2. Djemâaelections1947:locationofthedouars. 190
3. ElectionresultsinChelifregion1948to1951. 197
4. Monthlytaxcollection,kasma4311. 319
5. CourtcasesintheOrleansvillearea,1954to1957. 324
6. PsychologicalmappinginthePilotezone,1957. 420