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From “Qui tue qui” to “Bled Miki:” Controversies and Political Uncertainty in Post-Conflict Algeria
Abstract
The “Black Decade” (1992-1999) in Algeria was marked by an overwhelming uncertainty in the face of a succession of assassinations and mass atrocities. The causes of the violence have been widely discussed in the media and among scholars. Yet no narrative has managed to create a dominant understanding of the conflict (Mundy, 2015). Using press articles and ethnographic material, this paper studies the public debates regarding the instigators of the mass violence of the 1990s and their relationship to political uncertainty after 1999. By analyzing these controversies, the paper argues that prevailing uncertainty has played a key role in shaping post-conflict Algeria as a “regime of simulacra,” where the ability to analyze concrete facts and produce a shared meaning is vanishing (Baudrillard, 1981). The first part of the paper studies the debates after the end of the Black Decade. It highlights the persistent discussions regarding the circumstances of the assassination of symbolic figures such as the former President Mohamed Boudiaf and the Kabyle singer and activist Lounes Matoub. While commentators have not been able to provide a definitive explanation of the causes of their deaths, the controversies associated with the generic term of “Qui tue qui?” (“who kills who?”) have allowed competing actors to defend their political narratives and values. Questioning the official truth has also become a way to promote a political agenda (Taïeb, 2010). Thus, these debates opposed fragmented counter-narratives to the governmental discourse of national reconciliation. The second part of the paper traces the evolution of debates on “Qui tue qui?” in post-conflict Algeria. Various conspiracy theories also feed a paranoid view of politics that justifies the widespread rejection of the institutional processes. Meanwhile, political actors are constantly accusing each other of implementing secret agendas. For example, the head of the ruling nationalist party (FLN) has been accused of being a French agent. As a consequence, the country is sometime portrayed by a disillusioned youth as  “Bled Miki” (“The Country of Mickey - Mouse -”). This term refers to the supposedly unreal nature of contemporary Algeria. As a new counter-narrative that describes a regime of simulacra where nothing is true, “Bled Miki” appears to carry a powerful critic of the achievements of the post-colonial elite.
Discipline
Political Science
Geographic Area
Algeria
Sub Area
19th-21st Centuries