Timothy Mason Roberts, "After Barbary: Algeria's Roles in the French and American Empires" (Cornell UP, 2025)

About this episode

Dr. Timothy Mason Roberts discusses his book on Algeria's roles in the French and American empires.

After Barbary: Algeria's Roles in the French and American Empires (Cornell University Press, 2025) by Dr. Timothy Mason Roberts explores the connection between the United States and North Africa between the Barbary Wars of the early nineteenth century and the era of European decolonization after World War II. Dr. Roberts offers a new approach to the study of empires, highlighting the significance of Algeria in French-American relations from France's first occupation of the country through the first years of independence of the Republic of Algeria. As Dr. Roberts demonstrates, imperial authorities in Washington, DC; Paris; and Algiers rarely collaborated intentionally in institutional partnerships or alliances. Rather, American, French, and Algerian politicians, soldiers, writers, and revolutionaries—often acting at cross purposes and across political and cultural boundaries—sought power by imagining and constructing Algeria as a fissured, dynamic, transimperial space. Focusing on issues of settler colonialism, irregular warfare, racialized citizenship, territorial incorporation, and pan-African identity, After Barbary shows how French Algeria helped make the American and French…

People in this episode

Host: Miranda Melcher

Guest: Timothy Mason Roberts

Topics covered

• Algeria
• French-American relations
• imperial studies
• settler colonialism
• irregular warfare
• racialized citizenship
• pan-African identity

Keywords

• Algeria
• French Empire
• American Empire
• Barbary Wars
• decolonization
• settler colonialism
• irregular warfare
• racialized citizenship
• pan-African identity

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Cornell University Press

Books & works: After Barbary: Algeria's Roles in the French and American Empires

Places: Algeria, France, United States, North Africa

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