- 04 Feb 2013
Al-Qaeda And The Jihadi Dynamics In The Sahel
Abstract:
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghrib (AQIM) was launched in 2007 as the last offshoot of Bin Laden’s organization. It has therefore attracted significant international interest, especially after murderous suicide attacks in Algiers and repeated abductions of Western nationals in the Sahara. But AQIM media exposure could not mask its failure to live up to its commitment to strike Europe from North Africa. So AQIM increasingly bet on its commandos operating in the Sahel region to upgrade its jihadi profile. This led to a growing rivalry between the two local leaders, Belmokhtar and Abu Zeid, both of them Algerian. Their brutal competition is still at the core of the jihadi dynamics in the Sahel, through a complex web of alliances and patronage. The key to the success of the undergoing offensive in Northern Mali is to isolate AQIM cells from their local, mainly Tuareg, environment.
About the Speakers
Jean-Pierre Filiu, a historian and an arabist, is professor of Middle East Studies at Sciences Po, Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA). He has held visiting professorships both at Columbia School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and at Georgetown School of Foreign Service (SFS). His “Arab Revolution, ten lessons from the democratic uprising” was published in 2011 by Hurst (London) and Oxford University Press (New-York). After humanitarian missions in Lebanon (1983-84) and Afghanistan (1986), Filiu joined the French Foreign service in 1988. He was assigned to Amman, before becoming Deputy Chief of mission in Damascus and Tunis. He served also as an adviser to the Minister of Interior (1990-91), to the Minister of Defense (1991-93) and to the Prime Minister (2000-2002). Now a university professor, Filiu authored several books at Fayard, in Paris, including « The Boundaries of jihad » (2006), “The nine lives of Al-Qaeda” (2009) and “The New Middle East” (2013). His « Apocalypse in Islam » (University of California Press, 2011) was awarded the main prize by the French History Convention. His “History of Gaza” will come out next summer in English. His works and articles about contemporary Islam and the Arab world have been published in a dozen languages. Filiu also wrote the script of “Best of Enemies”, a David B.’s graphic novel about US in the Middle East that came out with Self Made Hero (and is now published in ten different languages). He wrote the stories of other graphic novels, and the lyrics of various songs, including one by the Toulouse based hip-hop group Zebda. President François Hollande appointed Filiu in July 2012 as one of the members of the draft committee that will soon release the White Book for Defense and National Security.
Event Details
National University of Singapore
469A Bukit Timah Road
Tower Block Level 2 Singapore 259770
