ABSTRACT
The second largest and one of the richest countries in Africa, Algeria enjoyed relative political and social stability until the 1980s. With its sheer size, real and potential wealth, Algeria could conceivably be considered a pivotal state.1 The government used its hydrocarbon revenues to institute a welfare system under an authoritarian regime. The oil income allowed the country to pursue a dynamic and quite successful foreign policy. The international legitimacy that the Algerian War of Liberation against France (1954-62) conferred upon Algeria’s rulers strengthened its image as one of the ‘leaders’ of the Third World. Algeria’s diplomacy elicited envy among its neighbours and from most less developed countries. The state produced outstanding diplomats, some of whom have served as UN special envoys to mediate international conflicts. In fact, Lakhdar Ibrahimi, one of the products of the National Liberation Front (FLN), served as UN special envoy to Afghanistan after the attacks on the United States on 11 September 2001. Following in his steps, in the mid-1990s, Mohamed Sahnoun, former Algerian ambassador to the United States, served as UN special envoy to Somalia.
