Terrorism in the Maghreb

Terrorism on the African continent is a complex and emotional topic. One of the primary reasons for this is that a historical introspection for any country, or its people, that has been confronted with a conflicting past can only be described as {u2018}sensitive{u2019}. In addition to international developments and challenges, domestic circumstances predominately fuel domestic terrorism. It will therefore be a mistake to assess the threat of terrorism in any country in historic isolation. This is particularly true when one tries to assess and understand the {u2018}renewed{u2019} threat of terrorism in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. This monograph will attempt to place the threat and implication of the name change announcement of the Salafist Group for Combat and Preaching (GSPC) to al-Qa{u2019}eda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb (AQLIM) in context, with the primary focus on events in 2007. The name change in itself implied that the original domestic group had transnational ambitions, but what influenced this development and what would the consequences be? Although this development led to immediate and extensive international interest in the Maghreb, it became clear that most assessments focused on the now, without appreciating the historical complexities that ultimately led to this development.