The Maghreb Since 1800: A Short History
Knut S Vikor
Knut S Vikor sheds considerable light on the recent events that have altered the Maghreb’s political landscape by examining its highly diverse history.
Starting with the arrival of Islam 13 centuries ago and then accelerating to the colonial and post-colonial eras, Vikor brings into focus the social, economic and political factors that helped shape the different outcomes experienced by Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia during the Arab Spring.
The establishments of Morocco and Algeria emerged largely unscathed as a result of state concessions made to reform-seeking protesters. However, it took violent unrest to dislodged the regime in Tunis and a full-scale revolution to topple Libya’s dictator. The Maghreb Since 1800 provides valuable historical insights into why these countries’ reform processes have varied significantly.
Vikor’s informative book is a little dry in places, but it more than compensates for this by being – at just 139 pages of text – exceptionally concise for such an expansive survey.
.
