Societies and citizens all benefit from informal economic activity, notwithstanding its precarity and irregularity, and its expansion in moments of economic crisis. Informal economy is not new; its finds its roots in the oldest, most basic economic arrangements known to man. Current interest in the informal economy stems from fundamental questions of state-society relations: what role should the state play in the governance and stimulus of economic activity? States and citizens are increasingly aware of the need to reduce debt and dependence by increasing domestic savings and for increasing economic self-reliance and micro-level empowerment. However, the current explosion of black and gray market activity is alarming, ranging from trafficking and smuggling of all kinds to off-the-books economics in every sector of every economy. How should states and citizens view these phenomena, as signs of strength and opportunities of empowerment or as symptoms of crisis and aberrations to be criminalized and eradicated or gradually controlled and eliminated. Informal economics reflects the majority or plurality of work in every Maghreb state according to even the most conservative estimates, encompassing over 90% of economic activity in some urban environments, but how to address it remains a conundrum for every Maghribi state. Based on fieldwork and research in five local languages spread over 26 years in all five Maghribi states, including over 3000 interviews and conversations with informal economic sector actors in a variety of academic and non-governmental capacities, this paper attempts will endeavor answer the question, is the informal sector a sign of neoliberal failure, or could it help provide the solution. New fieldwork has been organized to four of the five Maghrib countries in the coming months, and with Libyans in Tunisia, to gather new data and engage in further interviews with economic sector actors. The paper examines and assesses a vast array of economic, political science, and anthropological literature on informal economics, include qualitative and quantitative household economic surveys by international organizations and NGOs, in an attempt to redefine informal economics and its role within changing political and cultural systems. The notion of a “civilian popular economy” is analyzed. Phenomena as diverse as self-immolation (over 400 self-immolations have occurred since the Arab spring) to increasing non-state control of local “taxation” and regulation will be considered. Case studies will be offered in informal housing, transportation, finance and trade. Implications for local, national and international strategies will be discussed.

This paper examines the efforts of the Amazigh (Berber) identity movement during the last five years to redefine the content of national identity in North African states in the face of unprecedented challenges to state and society. It also analyzes the responses of state and other societal actors in Morocco, Algeria, Libya, and the North African diaspora. It argues that the Berber-Amazigh identity movement has registered important achievements both vis-à-vis its own Berber-speaking communities and state authorities, and that ethnic differences and particularities have become more salient to contemporary circumstances, reinforcing the longstanding consternation of state authorities and others who fear the unraveling of the status quo and the national fabric as they previously understood it. The study is underpinned by the historical evolution of the Berber aspects North African history, from pre-colonial and colonial times, to the independence era. It is based on a close reading of published material and interviews with activists from the three countries. The achievements of the Amazigh movement in Morocco following Morocco’s “Democracy Spring” in early 2011 centered on the constitutional recognition of Amazigh identity as an integral part of Moroccan national identity, and of the Tamazight language as an official state language alongside of Arabic. Belatedly, Algeria has suddenly enacted a constitutional upgrade of Tamazight of its own (something the regime had long resisted). In Libya, on the other hand, similar efforts failed, and the whole subject has since taken a back seat to the civil war there. State ambivalence and resistance by Islamists and others continues to be a source of contention and mobilization. In Morocco, increased Berber militancy has manifested itself in outlying regions and on university campuses: recent clashes with Sahrawi students resulted in the deaths of two Amazigh students, providing a new and poignant focus for movement activists. In Algeria, where the “Berber question” has historically been more highly charged and confrontational than in Morocco, the competing efforts of the state and Kabyle militants to claim the legacy of Hocine Ait Ahmed, one of the historic “chiefs of the revolution” who passed away on December 23, 2015, indicates that it remains so. This study examines these and other episodes of confrontations, as well as the efforts of Libyan Nafusa Berbers to defend and strengthen their communal existence and culture in the fractured Libyan state, with the assistance of Moroccan and Diaspora Berber activists.

Two rivals, Al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb - AQIM - and the Islamic State - IS -, have launched a dangerous new era of terrorist competition, which will only lead to further waves of deadly violence. This paper will compare the approaches that AQIM and IS have pursued in the Maghreb region and how the rivalry of these groups has intensified the violence of their actions to impose their preeminence and changed their tactics. The study will also analyze the existing tensions within Maghribi States between security and political reforms. Working hypothesis is that unless Maghribi governments initiate genuine reforms, AQIM and IS will consolidate their presence in the Maghreb region and improve the recruitment among the discontented youth. The paper’s methodology will use macro-sociological and psychological approaches to terrorism using research studies linking poor economic development, bad governance and terrorism. The analysis will use the author expertise based on several fieldworks to Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon, Nigeria including interviews with Algerian, European, French policymakers, experts and members of the civil society in the Region. AQIM, a Salafi-jihadist militant group considered as a terrorist organization operating in the Sahara and Sahel, takes roots in Algeria’s civil war in the 1990s and was often portrayed as an organization with limited nationalist or regional ambitions. AQIM’s rival, IS, by contrast wants to establish a much larger “caliphate”, a State governed under the Islamic law or Sharia with provinces across the MENA region. Both organizations have benefited from the chaos that emerged from the Arab revolts. The socio-economic and political problems in the Maghreb provided the impetus for revolutions and calls for reforms. Maghribi governments have developed a number of strategies to address the underlying issues that lead to radicalization of youth, but theses strategies have already shown their limits. Tunisia and Libya are still experiencing upheavals and insecurity at different levels and their options are limited. Morocco is still trying to implement reforms without addressing societal unease. As for Algeria, the apparent stability is deceiving as the threat of radical Islam has not been definitely settled because of governance failure and socio-religious divisions. The paper will also examine how European engagement strategies have to change to address this major threat to global security by determining more effective counter-measures.