Political Islam in Algeria between the Dilemma of Splits and the Option of Alliances: The Movement of Society for Peace as a Case Study

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the repercussions of the Arab Spring on the Islamist movement in Algeria through a case study of the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), focusing on the phenomena of internal splits and political alliances and their impact on the movement’s political performance and relationship with political power. The study adopts a descriptive approach and uses interviews with activists from the MSP’s provincial office in Tiaret. It also draws on the theory of segmentation to analyze the movement’s internal transformations. The study finds that internal conflicts and political alliances contributed to reshaping the movement’s organizational and political structure, while its alliances during the 2012 and 2017 legislative elections were associated with political calculations arising from the transformations following the Arab Spring. The study concludes that these transformations did not strengthen the movement’s political presence but rather revealed the difficulty of reconciling its Islamic reference with the requirements of democratic political practice.