Abstract: | In 1976 the United States replaced France as Algeria's principal trading partner. Its nearest rivals were all West European: France, West Germany and Italy in particular. In comparison, Algerian trade with the Soviet bloc has been on a small scale (3% of the total). On the face of it, this pattern of economic relations is surprising in the light of Algeria's reputation as a Third World power and an Arab radical, anti-imperialist and anti-Western country, but in general, Algeria's foreign policy principles are not those of revolutionary socialism or anti-capitalism, but are fundamentally nationalist. The Algerian priority is not to export their revolution but to support the national independence of all the peoples. Among the liberation movements which enjoy Algerian support the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Western Saharan movement (Polisario) claim more attention than the rest. The foreign policy is discussed in this article. Ref. |