Algeria and the Cold War

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 Boumediene, 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 Boumediene's era in Algeria and will be an essential resource for historians and political scientists alike.

Mohamed Lakhdar Ghettas is currently Project Officer at the Cordoba Foundation of Geneva and previously he initiated the Maghreb Studies Initiative within the Africa Affairs Programme at the London School of Economics IDEAS Centre for Diplomacy and Strategy. He has published several articles on the international affairs of North Africa and the Middle East. His PhD in International History is from LSE.

Acknowledgements
Introduction
Strategy for Development, 1969-1970
The Triumph of Realism, 1971-1972
The Challenge of Third Worldism, 1973-1974
Western Sahara
Safeguarding the Socialist Revolution, 1977-1978
Conclusion