North Africa

Stretching from the Atlantic coast in the west to the Red Sea in the east, the region of north-central Africa known as the Sahel has rarely figured as a focus of international geopolitics. Yet this semi-arid band of territory, spanning some 14 countries and home to numerous ethnic and religious groups, is emerging as a new arena in the sprawling global battle between governments and jihadist groups.

Hicham Alaoui, Visiting Fellow at Harvard’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and D.Phil. Candidate at Oxford University, sat down with JMEPP Lead Editor Anna Boots to discuss current trends in North African politics, including Tunisia’s nascent democracy, North Africa’s unique position in the Middle East region, and ongoing protests in Morocco’s Rif.

Tunisia celebrates 160 years of constitutionalism.

Mr. Kheireddine Bekkai is a senior lecturer in French and Arabic at the Department of World Languages and Literatures at Boston University. He holds an MA in the Instruction of French as a Foreign Language from La Sorbonne in Paris, France. He also holds two BAs, one in Applied Foreign Languages with a focus on Arabic, […]