ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the bases of foreign policy, emphasizing the impact of the colonial legacy on social structure and exploring the linkage between developmental needs and foreign policy. It focuses on Algeria's critique of the contemporary global system and its demand for international restructuring through Third World coalition-building. The chapter also deals with an investigation of the principles and the actual conduct of foreign policy in the bid to free US hostages in Iran in January 1981 and from the hijacked Kuwaiti airliner in April 1988. As a foreign policy actor, Algeria holds a key diplomatic position. For the Algerians, the formation of foreign policy has been first and foremost linked to Algeria's very special colonial legacy. The Sahara, however, provides Algeria with its natural resources. France's policy of resettlement of 2 to 3 million Algerians during the war further disrupted traditonal ties and created instead bonds and solidarity networks based on shared identity as Moslems and Algerians.
