Kabyle-Arab rivalry forced the FLN into a collective leadership without a supreme chief
Evidence
Yet it marked the seeds of dissension within the revolutionary camp that were to dog it incessantly through the war, and beyond. At the same time it was to have its bearing on the supreme leadership of the revolutionaries. The neuf historiques, deeply admiring of Ho Chi Minh at that time, would have liked initially to appoint from their ranks a similarly prestigious figure to head them; but, while there was no candidate of obviously outstanding stature, to have selected either an Arab or a Kabyle might have run the grave risk of alienating one or other race. Thus the principle of collective leadership was adopted right from the beginning, and it was to constitute a vitally important feature of the revolution all the way through to 1962. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 240
Categorization
- XREF: The absence of a Ho Chi Minh-like figure and adoption of collective leadership is a distinctive permutation of the revolution in Algeria, contrasting with the French Revolution’s centralization. — connects to: The FLN was riven by nested internal conflicts beyond the fight against France; Arab-Kabyle rivalry forced collective revolutionary leadership from the start; The FLN avoided racial schism by adopting collective leadership (+3 more)
Related
- Arab-Kabyle rivalry forced collective revolutionary leadership from the start (similarity 0.96)
- The FLN avoided racial schism by adopting collective leadership (similarity 0.94)
- The F.L.N. feared a sectarian Arab-Kabyle split exploit by the French. (similarity 0.82)
- Interior-exterior rivalry among leaders threatened the F.L.N. as much as French pressure. (similarity 0.82)
- The Arab-Kabyle split was the F.L.N.’s chief nightmare exploited by the French. (similarity 0.81)
- Post-independence rivalry among Muslim leaders exceeded wartime bitterness against France (similarity 0.79)
- Post-independence leadership rivalries turned lethal within the F.L.N. (similarity 0.79)
- F.L.N. power struggles intensified as independence approached. (similarity 0.79)
- The Algiers defeat exposed a fatal interior-exterior rift in F.L.N. leadership (similarity 0.79)
Broader Connections
- French colonial policy deliberately divided Kabyle against Arab populations
#complicates(0.70) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 150 - Post-independence leadership rivalries turned lethal within the F.L.N.
#expands(0.60)