the north africa journal






 



 









228th Issue: March 2012 ---- Download full PDF version here



Libya Year One
The Impassable Road to Stability

Islamists in Libya were always staunched enemies of the Gaddafi regime. Muamar Gaddafi spent millions of dollars either fighting them or paying them to gain their loyalty. One of the very last acts he did as the rebellion started in Benghazi was to release from jail a group of Islamist militants and gave them money to buy their support. The power of Islamists in Libya remains largely unproven and the country continues to face political uncertainty and instability. The Libyan society remains largely conservative but the extremist religion sentiment is generally not widespread. At least not yet! But as the revolution toppled the Gaddafis, Islamist voices became more vocal to the point that the then Interim Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril highlighted the importance of religious rules in the Libyan legal and government context...

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Islamists in North African Governance: Assessment

Tunisia’s Islamists: Will the Honeymoon Period End Abruptly?

The Islamist Ennahda Party is in control in Tunisia. After being denied political rights under the Ben Ali dictatorship for almost a quarter century, and a severe crackdown of its members, the Ennahda Party won the majority of seats in the Tunisian interim parliament called the Constituent Assembly, or National Constituent Assembly (NCA), following elections that took place on October 23, 2011. As Ennahda officials pave their way into governance, all eyes are focused on them. They are being scrutinized to see whether they will lead Tunisia into another Iran-like system or they will adopt the Turkish model. Many Tunisians see a third way, perhaps by creating a truly unique Tunisian model. Some hope that setting aside ideology, the economic model will remain unchanged. Continue here.

Islamists in Tunisia Facing Front-and-Center Challenges to the Economy, Security and Civil Liberties

The Tunisian Islamist party Ennahda and its two allies in the governing coalition, the Ettakatol Party (Democratic Forum for Labor and Liberties) and the CPR (Congress for the Republic) have less than a year to prove that they can move Tunisia forward. But so far, after a landslide victory in the elections that enabled Ennahda to win interim leadership, its image suffers from lack of progress and missteps while facing daunting tasks. Continue here.

Morocco Spends More on Subsidies to Ease Public Opinion on the Political Front

The Moroccans have had their quiet revolution. No drama like Tunisia or Libya, but the regime and the monarchy have taken notice. With public anger boiling at some point over the issue of democracy, Morocco had its near-miss moment. With a clever announcement of changes in the constitution, largely of cosmetic nature, King Mohammed VI swiftly aborted a potential catastrophe, avoiding the sort of fate that the former leaders of Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen and now Syria have met. Fresh elections enabled the so-called “moderate” Islamist organization of the Justice and Development Party (PJD) to win a majority position in Parliament, subsequently enabling it to form a government with its leader Abdelillah Benkirane as Prime Minister. But unlike Tunisia and Libya, the move into a “new governing system” in Morocco has been much more controlled. The King continues to do what he does best, and that is to be the uncontested ruler. The Benkirane cabinet has a few ministers who were appointed by the King, and their positions are not insignificant. In the Interior Ministry, the ministry in charge of police and security, the King imposed Mohand Laenser, a close ally but also a leading member of the Mouvement Populaire party. The economy and finance are handled by Nizar Baraka, not from the PJD but from the Istiqlal Party. But as Benkirane and his team enter the halls of governance, the challenges they are facing are enormous. The economy displays rather alarming mix signals. At first, the broad economy looks healthy enough to claim that Morocco is the exception. A closer look however, shows that the government is making enormous sacrifices and dangerous choices to buy peace of mind. Continue here.

Algeria: The Difficult Birth of a Moderate Islamist Political Coalition

While Islamists in Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt have made inroads in the area of governance, which remain to be fully tested, their Algerian counterparts still remain largely in the opposition. Energized by the outcome of the various elections in the region, Algeria’s various legal Islamist parties seem to be working to coordinate a common approach. But a closer look at their position reveals that they are in competition against one another for leadership as Algerians get closer to their May 2012 election season. Continue here.

Rise of Conservatism in North Africa: Women May be first Targets

On a Facebook post, Siham, a young Tunisian woman noted that “50 years after the promulgation of the individual person’s law (Statut Personnel), we are still discussing the issues of the Nikab (veil for Muslim women), the issue of prayer, mosques, gender equality, polygamy and women’s rights. And I thought we fixed these issues a long time ago.” Siham’s note illustrates how worried many are regarding the uncertain fate of women and their rights in Tunisia. The future of women is once again front and center amid substantial political change in the region, in particular in Tunisia, which recently endorsed an Islamist party to govern the nation. Continue here.


Corporate Affairs
SNC-Lavalin: Collateral Damage of Dealing with Dictatorships

Damage control and reputational risk are a few things the Canadian engineering giant SNC-Lavalin is currently experiencing firsthand. As the company celebrates one hundred years of business, it is facing unprecedented scrutiny related to its dealings with the Gaddafi family of Libya. Key senior executives have already lost their jobs as the company is going through damage control, and construction contracts in other parts of the world are being questioned. Now, a former Canadian ambassador to Tripoli could be dragged down into this affair, as the press continues to dig deep into corporate dealings that have gone bad like a Hollywood movie plot. The cost of doing business in Libya has suddenly increased rapidly for the company and its troubles may not be over...

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French Presidential Elections
Renault Assembly Plant in Morocco at the Center of French Presidential Campaigning

The opening by French company Renault of an auto assembly plant in Tangier, Morocco is the subject of an interesting debate in France, which is in the middle of a presidential election campaign season. The Tangier plant will employ some 6,000 full-time jobs and could be responsible for a broad employment figure of 30,000. The plant will assemble and export between 150,000 and 170,000 so-called low-cost cars...

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The Future of Libya: Forget About a Central Government, Only Unified Autonomous States Would Work
By Arezki Daoud

Libya is in chaos and the idea that a central government driven by the NTC or whatever comes after it will save it is pure fiction. Everywhere you look, every angle you analyze, every event reported by the media tell one thing, and one thing only: the NTC is incapable of governing and utterly unable to control the chaos as too many pressure points are breaking the country further apart. Continue here.

SNC-Lavalin: Collateral Damage of Dealing with Dictatorships


Tunisia’s Telecom Industry Gone Wild

Renault Assembly Plant in Morocco at the Center of French Presidential Campaigning


Algerians and Moroccans Use Cyber Attacks to Settle their Political Scores

Assessing Algeria’s Foreign Policy: The Diplomatic Coma

Libya Year One: The Impassable Road to Stability

Algeria: The Difficult Birth of a Moderate Islamist Political Coalition

Rise of Conservatism in North Africa: Women May be first Targets

Morocco Spends More on Subsidies to Ease Public Opinion on the Political Front

Morocco Spends More on Subsidies to Ease Public Opinion on the Political Front

Islamists in Tunisia Facing Front-and-Center Challenges to the Economy, Security and Civil Liberties

Tunisia’s Islamists: Will the Honeymoon Period End Abruptly?

The Future of Libya: Forget About a Central Government, Only Unified Autonomous States Would Work