French Colonial Fascism: The Extreme Right in Algeria, 1919-1939

Abstract

According to Kalman, this algérianiste identity informed a particular brand of fascism, one that prioritized maintaining the colonial order over replicating the structure and objectives of European fascist organizations. [...]settlers "turned in overwhelming numbers to fascism, mobilizing algérianité as a weapon against the Algerian left and Muslim reformism/separatism in equal measure" (99).

Samuel Kalman. French Colonial Fascism: The Extreme Right in Algeria, 1919-1939. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2013. ix + 268 pp. Notes. Bibliography. Index. $95.00. Cloth.

While the extreme politics of the OAS during the Algerian War of Independence are well known, the longer history of extremism within the settler community of French Algeria has not been widely studied. Samuel Kalman's French Colonial Fascism seeks to rectify this imbalance through an examination of extreme right-wing political parties and organizations in interwar Algeria and the ways in which they appealed to the "fascist" tendencies of the settler population. Relying on a wide range of archival sources, Kalman traces the ebbs and flows of a range of organizations, comparing their platforms, their appeal, their reladonship with their metropolitan counterparts, and their rates of success across all three departments of French Algeria. The evolution of these organizations is framed, furthermore, by the broader context of metropolitan politics and policies and the emergence of Algerian nationalist and reformist movements.

Kalman contends that the European Algerian community of the 1920s and 1930s demonstrated a propensity for authoritarianism and violence, and that it was deeply xenophobic, anti-Semitic, and anti-Muslim. At the heart of settler politics was the articulation of a "distinctly colonial consciousness that . . . incorporated French politics and mores, yet simultaneously demanded the formation of a uniquely Algerian national construct" (25). Settler identity was characterized by latinité, which likened French Algeria to the Roman empire, and algérianité. Both concepts were rooted in the belief that European Algerians constituted a "unique racial fusion" (2) whose strength and virility stood in stark contrast to metropolitan decadence. As a result of this sense of racial superiority, algérianistes sought to reinforce a rigid colonial hierarchy, excluding Muslim indigenous subjects and Jewish citizens. They also sought political and economic independence from a métropole that was deemed to be overly interventionist and prone to undermining the colonial order. According to Kalman, this algérianiste identity informed a particular brand of fascism, one that prioritized maintaining the colonial order over replicating the structure and objectives of European fascist organizations.

The success of extreme right-wing political parties and organizations was largely dependent on how effectively they catered to the priorities of this settler community. Local organizations, like the Unions latines (Latin Unions), were the most effective in catering to the algérianiste current and experienced significant electoral gains in some areas. By contrast, metropolitan groups that established Algerian chapters met with varying levels of success. While virtually all of these organizations were able to make inroads through their willingness to harness local anti-Semitism and antirepublican sentiment, those that seriously pursued cooperation with Algerian subjects, or who lauded "French" achievements in Algeria rather than specifically settler achievements, tended to have retention problems. The Algerian branch of the Parti social français (French Social Party) met with arguably the greatest success, in part due to its adoption of the algérianiste agenda of the Unions latines.

Naturally, settler politics hardly evolved in a vacuum, and Kalman presents a detailed analysis of the impact of political change in both the metropole and Algeria. In the case of the former, the election of the left-wing Popular Front in 1936 prompted widespread support for extreme rightwing groups in both métropole and colony. Fears that the new regime would grant greater rights to Muslim Algerians, in particular through the much-derided Blum-Viollette proposal to expand access to citizenship and the vote, further radicalized many settlers. In the case of the latter, Kalman clearly demonstrates how support for the extreme right was also shaped in reaction to emerging Algerian nationalist and reformist organizations. The political activism of groups like Messali Hadj's Etoile Nord-Africaine (North African Star) and Mohammed Bendjelloul's Fédération des élus musulmans (Federation of Elected Muslims) prompted settler political parties to either reject the idea of equality altogether and reinforce the existing hierarchy of colonial difference, or to seek some accommodation with moderate Algerian political leaders in an effort to stem demands for more radical reforms. In short, settlers "turned in overwhelming numbers to fascism, mobilizing algérianité as a weapon against the Algerian left and Muslim reformism/separatism in equal measure" (99).

While Kalman presents a persuasive and well-substantiated argument, there are a few minor weaknesses. First, the discussion of algérianité, one of the most compelling aspects of the study, would have been made even stronger by a more extensive consideration of its cultural manifestations; such content would have added even more weight to the claim that this settler identity contributed to a proclivity for fascism. Second, while Kalman's account of settler support for the extreme right is convincing, he often refers to "the settlers" as a monolithic group, even as he acknowledges that not all Europeans in Algeria were active members or supporters of these groups. And although he provides substantial data on membership and electoral support on municipal and departmental levels, we are not always given the proper context for appreciating these statistics. The archival record rarely offers up neat numbers, but it would have been useful to know what proportion of the general settler population belonged to these organizations.

A final comment is directed at the publisher, rather than the author. It is unfortunate that such a study of this caliber should be marred by poor copyediting. In addition to a variety of inconsistencies in spellings ( métropole is variously rendered with or without an "é," italicized or not), there are a number of typographical errors. One hopes that the editors at Palgrave MacMillan will be more attentive in the future.