Assessing Terrorism and Counterterrorism in the Maghreb

The spectre of terrorism still afflicts North Africa. There is no state in the Maghreb which has not experienced terrorism and there are indications that the threat is on the rise. Moreover, the worsening of socio-economic conditions in the region as well as the political turmoil in the Middle East have further fuelled the rise of political and radical terrorist movements in the Maghreb and neighboring areas. This article aims to provide an overview of the threat and spread of terrorism in the Maghreb, and to assess the counter-terrorism approaches of the three countries under review - Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. The analysis reveals a story that is more complex and nuanced that one may assume and highlights the extent to which North Africa has been neglected in academic and policy debates on terrorism and counter-terrorism. It emerges that the actual security situation in the region is particularly volatile, but also that the cards of both an Islamist threat and the menace of terrorism have been at times overplayed by politicians and the media with lasting implications both in terms of human rights violations as well as the security point of view.