Language, education and politics in the maghreb

The constitutions of all of the countries of the Maghreb declare Arabic to be the national language. Political and intellectual elites overwhelmingly endorse Arabisation of the educational system. A generation after independence, the goal is as elusive as it was during colonial days. Many have argued that this goal has not been reached because of the technical (linguistic) deficiencies of Arabic as compared with the advantages French offers as a modern language of science and technology. In this article, the author argues that the real obstacles to successful Arabisation are political in nature. The political and economic interests of the ruling elites and those of the former colonial power merge to constitute a formidable alliance favouring half‐baked solutions that perpetuate bilingualism and in the process the power and privileges of these elites. Arabisation is used by the Maghrebian national elites to legitimise their control and domination without any intention of implementing it to any degree that would seriously jeopardise this control or the privileges that derive from it.