Algeria, the next fundamentalist state?

This study is one of a series by the author on Islamic fundamentalism, or Islamism, in the Muslim world. This study is of particular policy interest because it deals with the prospect of a fundamentalist victory in Algeria, the largest and one of the most important Arab states. A fundamentalist takeover in Algeria will have major repercussions in the region. The author attempts to put such a takeover into perspective: What would it look like, and what would it mean for the West and the region? This problem is of intense interest not only to Washington but also to Western Europe, which would be the recipient of potential refugee flows and is already (and increasingly) dependent on Algerian natural gas. The author also looks at the Algerian case on a comparative basis: What does it tell us about the varieties of the broader international movement of political Islam?