Algerian nationalists in the French political arena and beyond

The Etoile nord-africaine and the Parti du peuple algérien in interwar France

Bibliographic Data

ID3979310
AuthorsRabah Aissaoui (University of Leicester, corresponding author)
Year2010
Volume15
Issue1
Pages1-12
Publication date2010-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of North African Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1362-9387 • E-ISSN: 1743-9345
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13629380802564112
OpenAlexW1996982187
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited11

During the interwar period, North Africans in France had established a tradition of anti-colonial political struggle and nationalism. Their political discourse was structured around a common denominator: their identity as Arabs and Muslims fighting against French colonial oppression. The Algerian anti-colonial movement, born within the structures of the French Communist Party in the mid-1920s was to distance itself slowly from the direct influence of this party. The Etoile nord-africaine developed a discourse that initially encapsulated all North Africans, but soon evolved to focus mainly on Algerian issues: the construction of a ‘modern’ Algerian identity and the struggle for independence. Through an analysis of El Ouma, the newspaper of the nationalist organisation, and of French colonial archives, this article explores some key aspects of the nationalist discourse of the Etoile nord-africaine (ENA) and the Parti du peuple algérien (PPA) on their relationship with the French left. It also assesses some of the ways in which international events such as the invasion of Ethiopia by Mussolini's Italy and the Palestinian question were both evoked to frame their nationalist struggle within the wider anti-colonial agenda of part of the left and establish links with other anti-imperialist and nationalist organisations in France and beyond

Ancient history · Art · Colonialism · Communism · Ethnology · Humanities · Identity (music · Independence (probability theory · Interwar period · Nationalism · Nationalist Movement · Political science · Politics · World War II · African history and culture studies · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · History · Law · North African History and Literature

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