Abdennour Toumi

Algeria’s tumultuous geopolitical environment has often pushed its leaders to reshape the country’s foreign policy and military doctrine objectives. Following the fall of the late President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in April 2019, Algeria entered a new phase of political transformation. The country’s growing diplomatic activity, aimed at achieving renewed regional and international prestige, reflects a strengthening of its new foreign policy paradigm, one characterized by active and preemptive diplomacy. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s administration seeks development and economic prosperity as a foundation for greater credibility in foreign policy. This ambition is closely linked to the domestic political reforms launched after his election in December 2019. There is no doubt that Algeria’s foreign policy behavior serves as a strategic tool for leadership, as its policymakers pursue a more assertive external posture that embodies the dynamics of peace and stability. This approach contributes to Algeria’s emerging doctrine of multilateral, platform-based diplomacy.

President Macron did decide to withdraw French troops from the Sahel last summer, leaving only special forces based in north Mali, he stated that Operation Barkhane will end early in 2022. Nonetheless, Algiers’ decision to not allow French military planes to use Algeria’s airspace will create a direct impact on the military mission and France’s entire ‘war on terror in the Sahel. In Algeria, however, bold decisions toward a strategic rapprochement with Turkey were in the making. Even though the new authorities in Algiers were hesitant for such a foreign policy shift, because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the internal political struggle, constitutional and institutional amendments in the aftermath of the peaceful Algerian 2019 Hirak needed to be put in place. However, the tenacious resistance of the Francophile and Arabophone-nationalists anti-Ottoman legacy, the well-off social class, and elite pro-France lobbies in Algiers and Paris held back President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s Administration from improving the relations between Algiers and Ankara. Meanwhile, the ambassadors from both countries have been pushing tirelessly for the success of the strategic rapprochement between these two states.