ABSTRACT
In what way has George Bush’s USA-led ‘war on terror’ impacted upon individual countries? How has a discourse which flattens out global politics into simple polarities become entangled with highly specific contexts? In this chapter I examine the case of Algeria. The first part will outline the intricacies of Algeria since independence in 1962, showing how Islamist disaffection and violence has indigenous roots. The second part will then examine how 11 September impacted upon this complex history, transforming Algeria’s political landscape. In particular I analyse how local élites exploited events to maintain their grip on power, subtly remodelling their language in terms of the ‘war on terror’.
