In both Algeria under Houari Boumédiène (1965–1978) and Libya under Mu'ammar al-Qadhdhafi (1969–2011) the idea of a nation in arms played a crucial role in the ‘revolutionary’ mobilisation of the population. Not just were the regimes based on military coups and led by army officers, but they put forward the ideal of a popular army in which potentially every citizen should be a soldier. In both cases, this included even women to varying degrees. However, while the Algerian state and regime had emerged directly from an actual war of independence with large popular participation, anti-imperialist mobilisation in Libya had to create a narrative linking anti-colonial resistance in the 1920s to the Qadhdhafi regime. Besides that, the Libyan regime always tried to achieve a higher level of popular mobilisation, while weakening the army as an institution, whereas the Algerian state became ever more controlled by a rather exclusivist officer corps. The article examines ideas around the nation in arms in both countries specifically with regard to questions of historical legitimacy, future mobilisation, and gender issues. It also points to more recent developments and contends that popular military mobilisation has ultimately proven destabilising to the regimes that promoted it.      «

In both Algeria under Houari Boumédiène (1965–1978) and Libya under Mu'ammar al-Qadhdhafi (1969–2011) the idea of a nation in arms played a crucial role in the ‘revolutionary’ mobilisation of the population. Not just were the regimes based on military coups and led by army officers, but they put forward the ideal of a popular army in which potentially every citizen should be a soldier. In both cases, this included even women to varying degrees. However, while the Algerian state and regime had em...     »