Emancipation within Empire

An Algerian Alternative during the Era of Decolonization

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4494547
AutoresSaliha Belmessou (0000-0001-9392-8921, UNSW Sydney, autor de correspondencia), Saliha Belmessous (UNSW Sydney)
Año2019
Volumen88
Páginas153-179
Fecha de publicación2019-10-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaHistory Workshop Journal (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1363-3554 • E-ISSN: 1477-4569
EditorialOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/hwj/dbz030
OpenAlexW2965300829
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas22

This article aims at shedding new light on the salience of empire as a political idea even at the height of decolonization. It discusses why and how colonial subjects - here Muslim Algerians - would continue, when faced with a choice, to look to empires rather than nation-states. The article focuses on six women and men who, during Algeria's war of independence, rejected the nation-state as their political horizon and imagined a decolonized empire in which they could pursue their emancipation and that of their people. These individuals pursued various political projects that would reconcile their claims for equality and cultural distinctiveness. Though a great number of pro-French supporters fought with arms alongside the French army, others fought with ideas, producing laws that would establish civil and economic equality. While historians have conventionally focused on materialist reasons to explain the loyalty of colonized peoples to imperial polities, this article considers instead the ideas and ideals that inspired the claims expressed by Muslim Algerians. Only a focus on ideas allows us to understand why people could continue to support the French imperial state despite its being disastrous for their material circumstances

Colonialism · Decolonization · Emancipation · Empire · Independence (probability theory) · Materialism · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · State (computer science) · European Political History Analysis · Gender Studies · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · Law · North African History and Literature