Hommam Al Nassim 
The announcement of the opening of a representative office of the “Republic of the Rif of Morocco” has escalated political and media tensions between Algeria and Morocco to a new level, threatening Algeria’s regional relations.
The Algerian move came as a late response to the Moroccan statements about the Kingdom’s support for the right to self-determination for the “Kabyle people” in Algeria, and what is happening between the two countries can be considered a model for the diplomatic situation that Algeria is engaged in a region that is experiencing sharp conflicts, as Algerian-Moroccan relations in their crisis form began before the 1975 conflict over the Sahara issue, there are politically and ideologically contradictory political systems in North Africa, and the increase in tension is not far from the entry of regional and international bodies, and the emergence of polarizations to Rabat and Algiers against the background of normalizing relations between Morocco and Israel, at a time when Algerian diplomatic vitality began to emerge after a dormant period under President Abdelaziz Bouteflika (1937-2021).
Algeria’s regional trends
Algeria seeks to follow a regional cooperation model that focuses on integration and strategic projects in North Africa, and this trend embodies a response to the state of disintegration of the Arab Maghreb Union, which has pushed Algeria towards partners in North Africa, including Tunisia, Mauritania, Libya, and to some extent Egypt, and this tension not only embodies concern about its western neighbor, but also conveys the need to reassess the regional approach prevailing since the late eighties, focus on Maghreb integration and strengthen regional economic, trade and energy cooperation; Algeria has control over transnational development processes to serve its interests.
In practice, Algeria has moved to the North African region through the establishment of Algerian banks, and deals with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a platform to promote economic integration, the strategy of increasing intraregional trade seems to be a realistic beginning to this trend, and recent diplomatic engagements, such as the seventh summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Algiers, reflect Algeria’s policy to break with the structure of the Arab Maghreb Union, activate regional cooperation and bypass previous alliances, as Algerian officials stress the importance of integration. The government’s commitment to establishing African free trade zones along the border areas convey Algeria’s interest in North Africa’s potential as a major energy and agriculture hub.
Regional political volatility
The economic picture of the Algerian model does not convey all the details facing its regional model, as the tension of its relations with its Moroccan neighbor is part of the crises in its geographical surroundings, as it is surrounded by tensions starting from Niger since the military coup in July 2023, and despite the balanced Algerian position in its support for the legitimacy of President Mohamed Bazoum and its rejection of any military intervention in it, but the developments in the countries located south of Algeria created successive disputes, as the ruling military council in Mali announced the termination of the Algiers Peace Agreement signed by Three days after this decision, Mali, along with Burkina Faso and Niger, announced its withdrawal with immediate effect from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), on the grounds that the group “betrays its founding principles and poses a threat to its member states and peoples, under the influence of foreign powers.”
These successive steps had the main purpose of sending a message to inside these countries that they are under intense external pressure, and they used the dispute with Algeria to try to create internal mobilization and unite the opposition behind them, and in this way they created a challenge to Algeria’s foreign relations that made it move towards the tripartite agreement with Tunisia and Libya, and this step seems to enhance political and economic cooperation, and try to formulate a new path for Maghreb integration, and confirm Algeria’s quest to compensate for some of its lost regional roles, what is happening is an attempt to create a cautious Algerian approach, involving This is on a strategic policy calibrate amid the collapse of most regional systems in North Africa.
Recent developments, including the withdrawal of neighboring countries from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the challenges posed by the end of Algeria’s dream of a trans-Saharan gas pipeline, have made Algeria’s regional commitments and efforts to mediate conflicts in neighboring countries seriously fail. economic to its neighbors. This raises relevant questions about the viability of Algeria’s regional leadership aspirations and its ability to influence African geopolitical discourse.
Its geopolitical importance at the geographical level and its location in the energy market qualified it to mediate in regional conflicts, but Africa’s acute crises, especially conflicts in Algeria’s geographical neighborhood, limited its regional ambition, and perhaps the next French-Algerian summit meeting will carry a clearer perception of Algeria’s next options.
Written by Mazen Bilal
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