Noureddine Jebnoun

Monday 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm

This class is in line with a comparative study of the post-colonial politics of the North African region – specifically the states of Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia. The course aims at providing a thorough overview of present-day North Africa with an emphasis on the field of politics. Key issues such as ideology, national belief systems, the nature of political trends (i.e. authoritarianism impulse versus struggle for democracy), political parties, Islamism, economic challenges, sub-national political identity (i.e. Berber), and people politics, etc., will be examined. The course will offer in-depth insight into the political development and contrasting trajectories of North African countries experienced during and in the post 2010-11 Arab uprisings. Additionally, particular attention will be paid to the difficulties facing the transitional process in North Africa and whether these countries will effectively democratize by establishing a representative and inclusive political system or degenerate into soft authoritarianism as the new elites are facing persistent challenges (i.e., government legitimacy, state-citizens relations, socio-economic goverance …). Finally, the region’s interaction with key external actors, such as the European Union as well as the United States, will be assessed