Global security watch : the Maghreb : Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia
Looks at security in the Maghreb from different angles which include: inter alia, human security, and those critical issues and threats that have affected the stability of the incumbent regimes. Uprisings, which have erupted cyclically, especially since 2010, inform on the strengths and the weaknesses of security in the Maghreb region, which today have intensified the threats, perceived or real, confronted by the regimes. As will appear in this work, the Maghreb regimes have faced a security dilemma, which has resulted in recent years in an arms race that has been conducted to the detriment of socioeconomic development whose failure is in fact at the root of many of the problems threatening the security and stability of the incumbent regimes, as well as the sovereignty of the states in the area. The region has also suffered from a lack of collective security; because of the suspicions prevalent among the neighbors, the establishment of a Maghreb security has been impossible to materialize. Those suspicions have also thwarted the construction of an integrated Maghreb, which could potentially promote growth and prosperity. Indeed, in spite of the rhetoric regarding the necessity of creating a united Maghreb, the states that make it up have failed to implement the project laid out in the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA) founded in February 1989. The UMA has been dormant since 1994 because the regimes have failed to resolve the question of Western Sahara, the former Spanish colony. Relations between Algeria and Morocco have been strained due to their contrasting positions and interests vis-a-vis this protracted conflict. Although external and geopolitical factors account for this lack of resolution of the conflict, the policy makers have been entrenched in their respective positions without succeeding in enunciating a formula that would allow for a resolution that would overcome the ideological and political postures that surround this conflict. The dispute is not the only factor impeding the erection of a united Maghreb; however, it remains a major obstacle because it is one of the primary reasons for the arms race between Algeria and Morocco. The lack of trust has prevented the brotherly neighbors from looking beyond narrow national interests and moving toward an economic integration that would certainly benefit their regional and domestic development. Their zero-sum game vision with respect to security has hindered the prospect for greater cooperation, let alone, a security community; as shall be seen, though cooperation exists in some functional areas, it remains quite limited and always full of suspicions. There is consensus among Maghreb specialists that regional integration would bring economic benefits to all the countries; yet, the Maghreb states are reluctant to abandon old schemes and raise the region to higher levels of development that would help them reduce their dependency on outside actors, such as the European Union. Rather than face external powers with a common strategy, they have sought to negotiate individually with more powerful actors without altering their dependent relations. The chapters in this book will seek to elucidate some of the problems that have hindered the construction of a united Maghreb and the development of collective security
eBook, English, 2013
Praeger Security International, Santa Barbara, CA, 2013
1 online resource.
9780313393785, 9781299999466, 0313393788, 1299999468
835962073
Introduction
Historical and current overview of the issue / Cherif Dris
Perceptions and management of the violence
Human security within the Maghreb : contrasted conditions
Maghreb common security : regional dilemmas. Interstate relations : rivalries, alliances and counter-alliances
The Western Sahara conflict and its impact on regional security
Security in the Sahara-Sahel region : national and regional approaches
The Maghreb in extra-regional great powers security
Conclusion