Tarikh al-Jazair al-Muasir
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Tarikh al-Jazair al-Muasir (Contemporary History of Algeria) is a two-volume historical work by the Algerian historian Muhammad al-Arabi al-Zubayri, published in 1999 by the Arab Writers Union in Damascus . The study examines the development of the Algerian national movement, the armed struggle during the Algerian War of Independence, and the early political developments following the recovery of national sovereignty .
Scope and Structure
The work is organized into two primary volumes:
- Volume 1 covers the socio-economic and cultural background of colonial Algeria leading up to November 1954 . It explores the evolution of the national movement and political formations between 1946 and 1954, the May 1945 uprising and subsequent massacres, the activities of the Democratic Union of the Algerian Manifesto (UDMA), the Algerian People's Party (PPA) and the Movement for the Triumph of Democratic Liberties (MTLD), the Special Organisation (OS), the Association of Algerian Muslim Scholars, and the stance of the Algerian Communist Party toward the liberation movement .
- Volume 2 addresses the period from 1954 to 1962, focusing on the armed revolution and state-building . It details the early field application of the revolution's objectives, French colonial counter-measures, the August 20, 1955 offensives, the 1956 Soummam Conference, the sessions of the National Council of the Algerian Revolution (CNRA), and diplomatic outreach toward the United Nations, Afro-Asian bodies, and NATO . It concludes with the negotiations, the ceasefire, the political competition for power, and a critical analysis of the Algiers Charter (Mithaq al-Jazair) .
Method and Themes
In the introduction to the second volume, al-Zubayri states that his aim was to provide a concise and objective study accessible to general readers and students, focusing on essential concepts and milestones of the November 1954 Revolution .
The work challenges conventional historiographical narratives concerning the origins of the armed revolution . Al-Zubayri argues against the widespread view that the May 1945 events alone matured the concept of armed struggle, emphasizing instead earlier nineteenth-century popular resistance led by educated elites and long-standing ideological commitments to national liberation . Methodologically, he also stresses the necessity of distinguishing between the European settler minority, who controlled the vast majority of total output, and the Algerian majority when interpreting colonial economic statistics .
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