Beyond the Binary: Amazigh Ethnicity and Transformational Resistance

This article explores Amazigh activism in Algeria, focusing on the role of language, memory, and political mobilisation in reshaping national identity. It critically examines the reductive Arab/Berber binary, arguing that such oppositions, rooted in French colonial logic, provide the vocabulary through which Amazigh identity claims are confined within minority paradigms. The aim is to reconceptualise Amazigh ethnic identity as a form of transformational resistance that challenges dominant power structures rather than merely seeking accommodation within them. Drawing on a diverse range of primary and secondary sources—including memoirs of key figures in Algerian nationalism such as Hocine Aït Ahmed and Sadek Hadjerès, as well as literature from grassroots Amazigh movements like the Mouvement Culturel Berbère and the âarch, the analysis situates the notion of “Berberism,” which gained prominence in the 1940s, within a broader historical context. Through the examination of key historical moments, notably the Berberist Crisis of 1949, the Kabylia Insurrection of 1963, the Berber Spring of 1980, and the Black Spring of 2001-2002, this study investigates the connection between Amazigh identity and narratives of resistance and transformation, thereby challenging the minoritisation of ethnic identities in post-colonial contexts. Through this lens, the article seeks to affirm plural ways of being rather than categorise them and to amplify the voices of those who persevere in speaking and promoting their language and culture.