Algeria and the Cold War

Descriere

Throughout the Cold War, Africa was a theatre for superpower rivalry. That the U.S and the Soviet Union used countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to their own advantage is well-known. Sub-Saharan countries also exploited Cold War hostilities in turn. But what role did countries in North Africa play? This book offers an international history of U.S-Algerian relations at the height of the Cold War. The Algerian president, Houari Boumédiène, actively adjusted Algeria s foreign policy to promote the country s national development, pursuing its own commitment to non-alignment and Third World leadership. Algeria s foreign policy was directly opposed to that of the U.S on major issues such as the Arab-Israeli conflict and Western Sahara conflict and the Algerian government was avowedly socialist. Yet, as this book outlines, Algeria was able to negotiate a position for itself between the U.S and the Soviet bloc, winning support from both and becoming a key actor in international affairs. Based on materials from recently opened archives, this book sheds new light on the importance of Boumédiène s era in Algeria and will be an essential resource for historians and political scientists alike.