THE TERRORISM IN ALGERIA

In 1992 the democratically held elections in Algeria were cancelled, t hus depriving the Islamic opposition of gaining power by legal means. Since then the greater part of the movement felt compelled to use viol ence and terrorism in pursuing its political aims. The analysis conclu des that terrorism and violence have been counterproductive to the mov ement's political goals, because: a) Since terrorism as a political st rategy has been and still is controversial among Algerian islamists, t he movement is now deeply split. b) Those advocating terrorism have ne ver succeeded in agreeing on an overarching political strategy. On the contrary, rivalry among different groups has been common - even to th e point of armed clashes. c) Although terrorist incidents have served to keep the world's eyes on the political problems in the country, the se incidents have at the same time undermined the political support th e islamists previously enjoyed in the AIgerian population.