Arendt and Algeria

This article identifies Algeria as a significant, if obscure, topos in Arendt's writing. It traces various moments of this encounter across oeuvre , well-known texts, such The Origins Totalitarianism (1951) and “On Violence” (1969), well lesser-known writings, “Why the Crémieux Decree Was Abrogated” (1943). In pursuing trajectory, argues that sustained engagement with reflects an ongoing ambivalent negotiation French imperialism. While Arendt continually falls back on apologetic discourse concerning imperial nation-state, her text nonetheless hints at important geometric lesson about space–time its legal structure: differential temporalities governing regime assimilation decree. Through parallel recasting famous distinction between power violence, delimits colonial rule question speed.