Its activism in favour of Western Sahara undermined the reach of Algerian diplomacy. The chaos that was registered in the 1990s secluded Algeria from the international scene, where only the antiterrorist struggle was taken into consideration. Bouteflika has improved the international image of Algeria, but some doubts remain as to the choices of his third term, i.e. its would-be openings, the building up of a Maghrebine community, its relationship with France, and so on.

Akram Belkaid is a journalist and an essayist.

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