1.

Algeria has long-standing investments in regional security and is ubiquitous in the

structures of African security cooperation.
2. Algerian officials have held key positions in the African Union (AU) related to peace and
security, such as the Peace and Security Department (PSD) and the Peace and Security
Council (PSC).
3. Algeria has supported efforts to strengthen the African Standby Force and has helped
implement the AU Plan of Action on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism

One reason for this criticism is Algeria's historical rivalry with Morocco, which has led some to
question Algeria's impartiality in resolving the Western Sahara conflict. Additionally, some
countries accuse Algeria of supporting armed groups in neighboring countries, such as the
Tuareg rebels in Mali.

The relationship between Algeria and Morocco has been strained for a long time, with tensions
escalating in recent years. The main source of conflict is the Western Sahara issue, with Morocco
asserting sovereignty over the territory and Algeria supporting the pro-independence Polisario Front.
The situation worsened when Morocco normalized relations with Israel in exchange for US recognition of
its sovereignty over Western Sahara. This led to Algeria feeling increasingly isolated diplomatically.
Verbal attacks and accusations have been exchanged between the two countries, including allegations of
hacking and supporting terrorist organizations. The closing of Algerian airspace to Moroccan planes and
the refusal to renew a gas pipeline contract are some of the consequences of the diplomatic break. The
border between the two countries has been closed since 1994, causing difficulties for people and
affecting communities established in both countries. While Morocco has called for reconciliation and
dialogue, Algeria's older generation of leaders has shown little interest in reconciliation. For relations to
improve, leaders on both sides will need to engage in discussions.

But over the last two years, there have been signs that
Algeria is changing and starting to flex its economic and
political muscles, which has accelerated in the wake of
the war in Ukraine, with Algeria capitalizing on
opportunities created by changes to global energy
markets. Algeria has also increasingly asserted itself in
the African Union and Arab League, stepped up its
lobbying efforts in foreign capitals and is deepening ties
with Beijing
Firstly, Algeria’s geopolitical location has defined the nature of its security doctrine since independence
to this day, vis-à-vis its neighbour, especially in the African Sahel, which in turn dictates Algeria’s
insistence on maintaining an autonomous approach in engineering its security strategy in the region.
Secondly, the African Sahel region is considered to be sensitive to the security of Algeria, especially the
southern region of Algeria. In fact, the African Sahel is, as Yahia Zoubir puts it, ‘Algeria’s Soft underbelly’
and ‘the corridor of all danger’ (Zoubir 2018, 72). These factors have forced Algeria to take draconian
steps, or even security measures, to ensure and defend its territorial sovereignty and to face the various
threats emanating from the Sahel as they endanger the security and the sovereignty of Algeria.

Thirdly, in parallel with the African Sahel region becoming an ‘arc of crises,’ the debates on its complex
crises, which have their own domino effects beyond the national borders, project serious security
challenges to their wider neighbourhood, which has significantly increased the literature, already dealing
with Algerian security perceptions and behaviour in the African Sahel.