Beyond The State: State Resistance & The Culture of Autonomy in Barbacha, Algeria
Lead Research Organisation:
Brunel University London
Department Name: Social and Political Science
Abstract
Can people today live without the state? 'Beyond The State' is an anthropological project about the culture of
the autonomous commune of Barbacha in Algeria, ethnographically exploring citizenship, non-state spaces
and emancipatory social movements.
The commune of Barbacha aims to become autonomous from the state via the revival of traditional democratic
practices. Barbachians are Amazigh, an indigenous Maghrebian Maliki Sunni community. Since
independence, Arabisation policies, state violence and precarity have prompted the reemergence of colonial
discourses pitting the Amazigh against Arabs, resulting in repeated 'Berber Springs' (1980, 1988, 1991, 2001,
2012, 2019) where the Amazigh escalated their demands for autonomy. In 2001, Algerian Amazigh resorted to
the thajma'th - pre-colonial democratic village assemblies - to replace state institutions, nevertheless, research
posits that traditional forms of Amazigh political organisation have been superseded by political parties
(Maddy-Weitzman, 2022). In contrast to this national trend, in 2001, Barbacha replaced state courts with
village tribunals. Following what Barbachians claimed were fraudulent elections in 2012, they reinstituted the
thajma'th to contend with an eventually supplant state institutions (Tarlacrea, 2014).
Barbachians identify as Amazigh and Arab, and although they aim to dissolve state power, consider
themselves Algerian citizens, participating in both indigenous and state politics. Rich with political, postcolonial
and indigenous discourses, Barbacha offers a paradoxical case study. Barbachians inhabit seemingly
contradictory modalities resulting from the autonomic process, and articulating these is the main aim of the
project. What does belonging mean in Barbacha? How do Barbachians identify as Amazigh and Arab? How do
they consider themselves national and non-state subjects? How do they negotiate participation in state and
anti-state politics? This project will conduct the first ethnography of Barbacha to research how traditional
democratic practices and autonomic goals have resulted in Barbacha's social life, and what this can teach us
about identity, citizenship and autonomy.
the autonomous commune of Barbacha in Algeria, ethnographically exploring citizenship, non-state spaces
and emancipatory social movements.
The commune of Barbacha aims to become autonomous from the state via the revival of traditional democratic
practices. Barbachians are Amazigh, an indigenous Maghrebian Maliki Sunni community. Since
independence, Arabisation policies, state violence and precarity have prompted the reemergence of colonial
discourses pitting the Amazigh against Arabs, resulting in repeated 'Berber Springs' (1980, 1988, 1991, 2001,
2012, 2019) where the Amazigh escalated their demands for autonomy. In 2001, Algerian Amazigh resorted to
the thajma'th - pre-colonial democratic village assemblies - to replace state institutions, nevertheless, research
posits that traditional forms of Amazigh political organisation have been superseded by political parties
(Maddy-Weitzman, 2022). In contrast to this national trend, in 2001, Barbacha replaced state courts with
village tribunals. Following what Barbachians claimed were fraudulent elections in 2012, they reinstituted the
thajma'th to contend with an eventually supplant state institutions (Tarlacrea, 2014).
Barbachians identify as Amazigh and Arab, and although they aim to dissolve state power, consider
themselves Algerian citizens, participating in both indigenous and state politics. Rich with political, postcolonial
and indigenous discourses, Barbacha offers a paradoxical case study. Barbachians inhabit seemingly
contradictory modalities resulting from the autonomic process, and articulating these is the main aim of the
project. What does belonging mean in Barbacha? How do Barbachians identify as Amazigh and Arab? How do
they consider themselves national and non-state subjects? How do they negotiate participation in state and
anti-state politics? This project will conduct the first ethnography of Barbacha to research how traditional
democratic practices and autonomic goals have resulted in Barbacha's social life, and what this can teach us
about identity, citizenship and autonomy.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Maria Kastrinou (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Tomás ACLAN (Student) |