Algeria fails in its bid to join the African Peace and Security Council

Algeria failed to gain membership of the African Peace and Security Council, despite an intense public relations campaign that lasted for months. This failure highlights the decline of Algeria's influence in African institutions in recent years.

The North African country did not get enough votes or manage to win the trust of the nations it hoped to have on its side, especially after the visits of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Attaf, to several African countries in recent months in the hope of obtaining the backing of the majority of the members. 

This rejection demonstrates the deterioration of the influence of Algerian diplomacy on the African continent, as well as the growing mistrust of African institutions, whose working mechanisms have undergone significant changes. However, as Al-Arab points out, Algeria has not recognised this evolution, persisting in dealing with the African reality with obsolete approaches dating back to the 1970s and 1980s. 

Africans are no longer concerned with old alliances. The Polisario Front is part of that past, which explains the isolation Algeria faces in African institutions. This contrasts with the growing support Morocco is receiving due to its approach to resolving the Sahara issue, based on the autonomy plan. 

In this sense, Algeria tried to recover the seat that the Kingdom has occupied for three years in the Peace and Security Council, but failed to obtain the necessary votes, as several countries refrained from supporting its candidacy, mainly due to its open disputes with various African states. 

In addition to the decline of Algerian diplomacy in North Africa, Algiers has lost its role as mediator in the Sahel, clashing with Mali and putting Algeria's security and stability at risk. 

This is why Algeria must review its approach and build relationships based on mutual interests with African countries. It could take as an example other nations such as Morocco, which has managed to forge solid alliances through economic partnerships, investments and facilitating the integration of African economic transactions with Europe. 

To revive Algerian diplomacy, new ideas and visions are needed, far removed from the old mechanisms, the slogans against colonialism and the revolutionary discourses. It is necessary to understand the nature of the current context and, above all, to listen to the perspectives of Africans themselves. 

This implies forging new alliances based on common interests in order to boost the economies and societies of the continent. Likewise, Algeria should present serious projects for the benefit of Africa, as Morocco is doing with its relevant Atlantic initiative.  

Algeria chaired the African Peace and Security Council for 13 years, from 2008, under the leadership of former Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra, who was succeeded by Smail Chergui. The first sign of the decline of Algeria's role was the failure to try to adopt a position in the Council in favour of the Polisario, an attempt that failed miserably in the face of opposition from a large majority of members. 

Elections for the members of the African Peace and Security Council will be held at the 38th Ordinary Summit of the African Union, which will take place this weekend in Addis Ababa. Prior to this, the 46th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council (Ministers of Foreign Affairs) will be held, where the new leadership of the African Union Commission is expected to be elected, with the election of five new members of the Peace and Security Council.