Algeria Between Geopolitical Pressures and Trump-Era Calculations: A Contribution by Marouane Cheibani
✍️ Translated by: Dr. Hana Saada
Algiers – November 2025 – In an extensive interview granted by veteran Algerian diplomat Sabri Boukadoum to the Stimson Center in Washington, a remarkably composed and self-assured Algerian discourse emerged—one far removed from the volatility shaping regional politics today.
What Boukadoum articulated was not mere diplomatic rhetoric, but a strategic reading of a country standing at the crossroads of storms: volatile borders, a fragile Sahelian space recording more than 1,800 security incidents annually, profound domestic economic transformations, and a partnership with a global power that continually redefines its priorities.
The first striking element in Boukadoum’s statements is his lucid awareness of Algeria’s inescapable geographical burdens. He stated plainly: “Do not forget that Algeria is the largest country in Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Arab world.” He then added a telling figure: “We have seven thousand kilometers of borders… this is both an internal and external challenge.”
In reality, Algeria’s land borders today span more than 6,385 kilometers across seven countries—making them among the longest in the continent.
With this sentence, the former minister distilled the essence of Algeria’s security dilemma: a sprawling state in a turbulent neighborhood, ringed by crises extending from Libya to Mali and Niger—crises that cannot be ignored, yet cannot be absorbed wholesale.
Although Algeria has historically adhered to a doctrine of non-interference, Boukadoum recalled its longstanding role in regional mediation, especially in Mali, saying: “We were the sponsors of the peace agreement in Mali… and for decades we have played the role of stabilizer in the region.”
He was referring to the 2015 Peace and Reconciliation Agreement, whose implementation Algeria continues to oversee through an international monitoring mechanism.
But more importantly, he offered a structural interpretation of the Sahel’s deterioration: the disappearance of traditional trade networks, the closure of borders following the discovery of oil in the 1970s, and the collapse of the economic and social bonds that once knit the Sahara together.
For him, the crisis is not merely security-related; it is civilizational and economic. Historical networks disintegrated, and in their place rose chaos, armed groups, and smuggling—whose annual value in the region is estimated to exceed $1.2 billion across its various forms.
Within the border context, Boukadoum emphasized that the landscape is far more complex than distant observers may assume. Irregular migration, which has surged by more than 35% in recent years; armed groups; arms trafficking—over 1,200 attempted smuggling operations thwarted by Algeria in less than a decade; and the absence of state authority in parts of the Sahel—all are issues managed daily from within Algeria, not through diplomatic communiqués.
Hence his candid assertion: “We must be the ones to solve these problems… no one will do it for us.”
Regarding Algeria’s relationship with the United States, Boukadoum introduced a renewed narrative grounded in realistic parity rather than alignment or flattery.
He spoke of a “new phase” in bilateral relations and of signing an “unprecedented defense cooperation agreement,” an accord that coincides with the rise of bilateral trade to more than $4 billion annually.
Yet he equally underscored Algeria’s independent decision-making. The partnership, he insisted, is not a concession but a search for converging interests that serve both sides in an acutely sensitive regional environment.
His remarks reveal a clear understanding of how Algeria balances the construction of a strategic relationship with Washington while safeguarding its traditional posture on the world stage: non-aligned, sovereign, and interested in partnerships—not dependency.
This position is now well understood in Washington, especially amid Algeria’s rising influence in Sahelian affairs, the security vacuum left by the withdrawal of 3,000 French troops from Mali in 2022, and in matters of energy and regional security.
Throughout the interview, Boukadoum oscillated between realism and a sense of historical responsibility: a nation emerging from 132 years of colonialism, seeking to build a new political and social model under the banner of the “New Algeria,” while confronting immense pressure on its southern and western borders.
He repeatedly stressed a central idea: internal reform cannot be decoupled from an unstable regional environment, and Algeria’s national security begins deep in the Sahel.
In the end, observers may diverge on Algeria’s approach to the Sahel or on its increasing engagement with the United States. Yet what cannot be overlooked is that Boukadoum’s words outline a coherent vision: a state that understands its position, safeguards its interests, and refuses to succumb to the burdens of geography—choosing instead to transform those burdens into strategic assets rather than permanent liabilities.
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