The F.L.N.’s deep historical mistrust of France drove its intransigent negotiating posture.

Evidence

As the peace wranglings drag on from one stage to another, one needs to bear sympathetically in mind the various deep-seated neuroses and inhibitions besetting the Algerian negotiators; an underprivileged people who for over six years had fought the grimmest of wars against a nation gifted to the full with every advantage of civilisation; a people aware that several times in the past their birthright had been stolen by guile, whether by fraudulent elections or unfulfilled promises (and how easily, on the very edge of success, might they be cheated yet again by French wiles or a foot placed incautiously!). On the other hand — as time passes on, moving ever to the disadvantage of the French — one must not ignore that all too human instinct of mankind to ask for more as soon as it realises that its adversary is floundering. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1418

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The F.L.N. framed independence as seized, not granted.; Rigid F.L.N. negotiating terms outlasted France’s shifting war aims — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 450; Recognition of the F.L.N. as sole negotiating partner was the core deadlock — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1165 (+2 more)

Related

• Recognition of the F.L.N. as sole negotiating partner was the core deadlock (similarity 0.88)
• Rigid F.L.N. negotiating terms outlasted France’s shifting war aims (similarity 0.88)
• The F.L.N. refused any ceasefire before a full political settlement. (similarity 0.84)
• The F.L.N. framed independence as seized, not granted. (similarity 0.83)
• F.L.N. hard-liners treated negotiations as stalling devices to gain time. (similarity 0.83)
• The F.L.N. forced the French to abandon every major negotiating demand in sequence. (similarity 0.83)
• F.L.N. hard-liners believed French weakness made continued fighting the winning strategy (similarity 0.83)
• Hard-line F.L.N. leaders read the war’s trajectory as favoring continued fighting over compromise. (similarity 0.83)
• Algerian refusal to compromise stripped away each French negotiating demand (similarity 0.82)
• Both F.L.N. and French leaders adopted intransigent rhetoric to placate their army hard-liners (similarity 0.82)
• Rejecting the paix des braves is what ultimately let the F.L.N. win (similarity 0.82)
• Recognition of the F.L.N.’s negotiating status blocked every peace initiative. (similarity 0.82)
• The F.L.N. hard-liners won standing by crediting violence, not soft diplomacy, for concessions. (similarity 0.81)
• French negotiators wanted specific guarantees while the F.L.N. offered only vague goodwill (similarity 0.80)
• Army hard-liners like Boumedienne drove the F.L.N.’s negotiators to intransigence. (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• F.L.N. hard-liners believed French weakness made continued fighting the winning strategy #complicates (0.60) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1173