"This collection of studies offers a radical corrective to Western misconceptions. Rejecting essentialist and determinist approaches, Hugh Roberts explores the outlook and evolution of the various internal forces - the Islamists, the Berberists, the factions within the army and the regime in general - but also external interests and actors, and explains their strategies and the manoeuvres in which they have engaged. The resulting analyses illuminate the dynamics of the conflict and the real issues at stake, and identify the implications of each development in the action."--Jacket.