The Islamic challenge in North Africa

Abstract

This article analyzes and compares the growth of Islamist movements and regime responses in the three core Maghrib states — Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. In spite of the many points of commonality and their geographical proximity, the particular sociopolitical and historical circumstances of each of the three states have varied widely, producing a different state‐society/regime‐opposition dynamic in each case, resulting in very different political outcomes. Algeria has been, and remains, in many ways, sui generis in the Arab world. Consequently, even if the Islamists do eventually come to power there, one should avoid adopting any simplistic Islamic ‘domino theory’ for the region.