Citizenship Education in Post-conflict Contexts: The Case of Algeria

Abstract In most post-conflict contexts, weakened by the large scale of destruction, efforts are often directed towards rebuilding society through preparing citizens to manage conflictual relationships and rebuild at both social and identity levels. This obviously requires the support of citizenship education that models attitudes and civic practices as well as building civic competences. This chapter focuses on two post-conflict periods in Algerian history. Firstly, we consider the post-colonial period characterized by the need of Algerian society to unite behind a national identity and achieve what the former president Houari Boumedien called “l’Etat – Nation” (the Nation State). From this perspective, we examine the historical complexities around citizenship education in Algeria comprised of three-identity components, namely ‘Algerianity’, Arabization and Islam. Secondly, we analyze the challenges of citizenship education following Algeria’s ‘Black Decade’ civil war that ended at the start of this millennium. At that time, civic identity was very much influenced by a growing rejection of religious extremism. Finally, we discuss multi-level case studies of educational reforms related to citizenship education as well as changes in the Algerian educational system in terms of participation, conceptions of citizenship, an openness to discuss controversial issues linked to freedom of expression, human rights issues, the participation of women and contextual values of development.