The Diplomat in Spain

In collaboration with the Master’s Degree in International Politics: Sectorial and Area Studies at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), Casa Árabe is organising this afternoon at 6 p.m. on its YouTube channel (in Spanish or French) the ninth conference of the Aula Árabe Universitaria 2 programme, entitled The Algerian Hirak: a case study on the mobilisation of protest in the Maghreb, given by the Director of Research at the CNRS, Karima Dirèche-Slimani. In French, with simultaneous interpretation into Spanish.

The concept of hirak brings together various manifestations in the Arab region that are distinct from each other. The genesis of this term dates back to 2007, in Yemen, where the Hirak al-Janoubi (Southern Movement) emerged, referring to a separatist political grouping. In 2016, the term Hirak appeared again, but this time in the Moroccan Rif, where the protest was characterised by its strong regionalism and social base.  For its part, the citizen mobilisation that began in Algeria on 22 February 2019 also has its own characteristics, as the Algerian hirak is defined as a national, peaceful and popular movement with strong political demands. In this lecture, historian Karima Dirèche-Slimani will address the case of the Algerian hirak, dismantling the representations of a depoliticised nation trapped in the trauma of the 1990s in order to better understand the dynamics of change that the multiple components of Algerian society have built, from below and in silence. For more information on the Master’s degree, click here.