Algeria’s Resounding Failure to Secure a Seat on the African Union’s Peace and Security Council: Another Setback for Algerian Diplomacy

ALDAR/

The African political scene has witnessed a significant development with Algeria’s failure to secure a seat on the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, the body responsible for security and stability issues on the continent. This failure reflects fundamental shifts within the AU, as Algeria was unable to rally enough support to obtain this strategic seat, which has been held by Morocco for the past three years.

Despite the extensive efforts of Algerian diplomacy, employing all means—both legitimate and illegitimate—its candidacy failed to secure the required quorum of votes from member states, leading to its exclusion from the race.

This setback comes at a time when Algeria is striving to strengthen its regional presence and restore its influence within African institutions.

According to well-informed sources, the lack of support for Algeria was not a coincidence but rather the result of a series of accumulated factors, most notably the decline of Algerian diplomatic influence on the continent. This contrasts with the rise of new powers adopting more balanced economic and development policies, moving away from Algeria’s long-standing strategy of “buying alliances.”

For decades, the Algerian regime has relied on its oil and gas resources as a tool to secure support in Africa by offering economic aid and forging partnerships based on narrow interests. However, in recent years, a new generation of African leaders has favored mutual cooperation based on development and investment, rather than conditional aid and political allegiance.

In this context, Morocco has played a key role in strengthening its presence within the AU through a strategy based on a “win-win” approach, focusing on development projects and economic investments. This pragmatic policy has earned Morocco the trust of many African countries, in contrast to Algeria, which continues to rely on outdated diplomatic methods.

This diplomatic failure marks yet another setback for Algeria, which had been counting on returning to the Peace and Security Council to regain some of its lost influence on the continent. However, it also highlights Algeria’s growing isolation within the AU, especially given its lack of a clear and convincing vision for engaging with the new dynamics shaping Africa.

The Algerian regime’s inability to recognize the political transformations taking place, coupled with its insistence on obsolete diplomatic practices, has led to its declining influence. This was notably expressed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who described Algeria as a country “without weight or prestige,” a clear indication of its diminishing role regionally and internationally.

This failure underscores major shifts in the balance of power in Africa, where financial resources alone are no longer enough to buy influence. Instead, a country’s ability to provide real development solutions to African nations has become the key to leadership on the continent—something Algeria has yet to achieve.