North Africa in Transition: State, Society, and Economic Transformation in the 1990s. Yahia H. Zoubir (ed.). Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1999. 299pp. Cloth: $ 59.95.

Yahia H. Zoubir has compiled a fine collection of essays about developments in North Africa in the 1990s. Although this collection of essays represents a variety of viewpoints, some even contradicting the others, the stress is always on the social, political, and economic explanations for developments in North Africa. In the Anglo-American academy, North Africa has not received much attention and, as such, the literature on the region lacks depth. By making use of his personal connections, Zoubir has elicited contributions for this book from the well-known scholars of Maghreb, adding to literature on this underrepresented region. While the focus of this book is North Africa, Algeria gets more coverage than other countries of the region, perhaps due to the Algerian focus of the editor himself.

The book is divided into three parts. The first five chapters in part one address economic and political developments in the Maghreb. In particular, the authors try to account for the failure of the "development phenomenon" in the Maghreb. Pointing to constant political instability in Maghrebi states, the authors place the reason for this failure at the feet of a weak civil society with constant repression from above. While Henry Clement's chapter involves a dialectical exposition on the development of civil society in the Maghreb as a whole, Zoubir, Layachi, King, and Deeb focus on the development of civil society in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya, respectively. Both Zoubir and Layachi deal with the changes arising out of economic liberalization, and predict a bright future for civil society. With a comparative focus on East Asian cases, King attempts to account for the failure of Tunisia in fulfilling "Western expectations" (p. 61). In the case of Libya, Deeb advances a well-rounded argument that the health of the Libyan economy, in spite of oil revenues, remains fragile. All this is set to lead towards a conflict-filled transition if and when Qadaffi's rule comes to an end.

The second part of the book deals with more specific issues in the Maghreb. Claire Spencer cautions policy-oriented researchers to pay more heed to the history and diversity of Maghreb in their research, which she argues is focused heavily on Islam at the expense of other socio-cultural explanations. In the following two chapters, Mohammad Azzi and Yocef Bounandel deal with the topics of youth and human rights in the Maghreb, respectively. Azzi examines the prevalence of alienation among the youth, who form the majority-approaching seventy to eighty percent-of the unemployed in the Maghrebian countries. A worsening socioeconomic situation, according to Azzi, leaves the Maghrebian youths with violence as the only medium of expression. According to Bounandel, the worsening socioeconomic conditions over the last decade are also responsible for the worsening human rights situation in the Maghreb, although Morocco is an exception to this secular trend.

International pressure has proven especially important in bringing about improvement in the human rights situation in Maghreb. Francophone intellectuals in Maghreb, who have raised human rights issues repeatedly, have not fared well in their own societies. This, according to Geesay, could be accounted for by the colonial baggage of the French language, which is viewed with mistrust by the Maghrebians. Nora Colton examines the emerging markets in Maghreb, and prescribes cautious liberalization because of the unpredictable political ramifications of speedy liberalization. Robert Mortimer rounds off the second part of the book by examining the rise and eventual decline of the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), which he blames on the tensions between Algeria and Morocco over the Western Sahara.

The last four chapters are more or less in the field of security policy studies, with the first two-by Youbir and Volman-tackling the issue at the Maghrebian level, while the rest concentrate on the international level beyond the shores of the Mediterranean. Youbir's chapter on the geopolitics of the Saharan conflict, which has been a bone of contention between Algeria and Morocco, reveals that although France and the United States support the Moroccan position, Spain still supports the Saharawi people because of its historic guilt over not addressing demands for Saharawi self-determination. Following this, Volman looks at the military expenditure in Maghreb, which at this moment favors Algeria over Morocco, because of its oil and gas revenue receipts.

In the last two chapters, the authors deal with US policy in the Maghreb (Zoubir and Zunes) and the European Union's policy toward the Maghreb (Joffe). Zoubir and Zunes examination of the US policy orientation toward different members of the Maghreb finds a policy that, although mindful of the longtime friendship with Morocco, singularly emphasizes economic liberalization. They also notice that the US is moving to lessen the hegemony of France in the region. Lastly, George Joffe provides a well-rounded chapter on European Union policy toward the Maghreb, focused on economic issues at the expense of political and security issues. Although the EU agenda toward the Maghreb is mainly driven by Spain and France, of late Germany and Britain have started making their presence felt.

Although this is a fine collection and the editor has received significant participation of authors from the Maghreb, there is a paucity of references to Arabic sources. There is also a neglect of the cultural issues in explaining the events of the last ten years, which have been fostered mainly by the Islamic opposition challenge. Although the authors do address the issue of the international dimensions of the Maghrebian issues, there is no systemic treatment of how the Maghreb fits into global capitalism. Finally, even though women authored four of the chapters, there is no specific piece devoted to the roles of women in the Maghreb.

This being said, I would not hesitate to recommend this book to a wide variety of audiences. There is something here for all interested parties.

Amandeep Sandhu
Department of Sociology
University of Victoria, B.C.