Zhou Enlai, the late Chinese Premier, once said: “There are now new divisions in the world, new alliances and chaos everywhere”. More than half a century later, his words still capture the state of the Arab world — torn by ethnic, sectarian and regional divisions that have produced unusual new alliances, some even with Israel against Gaza, driven by short-term interests and narrow calculations, often at the expense of sovereignty and national integrity.
The irony is that such turmoil unfolds in one of the richest regions on earth. Its immense wealth has become an instrument of destruction, used by certain Arab governments to weaken others. The examples are clear in Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Sudan and Gaza.
A recent warning by Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune throws Zhou Enlai’s words into sharp relief. Tebboune cautioned against yielding to foreign powers which, he said, had sworn that Algeria would not reach 2027 without collapsing. He made these remarks to business leaders while reviewing six years of government performance, then followed with an even sharper warning that “Algeria is under military threat”.
He did not name the “foreign powers” behind this alleged plot, but his tone suggested a serious attempt to destabilise the Algerian state — similar to the collapse of Syria when its army disintegrated. His comments coincided with growing talk of redrawing the Middle East map and replacing existing borders with smaller, sectarian entities — more divided, weaker and easier to control.
Why Algeria in particular? The answer may lie in its honourable position on the Israeli war on Gaza — a stance that came at a cost. Tebboune hinted that while the visible actors are foreign powers, “Israel stands behind them, moving the pieces”. He noted that Israeli officials had threatened that Tel Aviv’s next confrontation, after Iran, could be with Algeria. Clearly, Algeria’s steadfast rejection of normalisation and its consistent support for the Palestinian cause have made it a target in an era shaped by the so-called “Abrahamic” alignment.
There are also domestic fault lines that could be exploited to weaken Algeria, such as its dispute with Morocco over Western Sahara, which led to the severing of diplomatic ties in 2021 and its strained relations with France since mid-2024.
History reminds us that when Egyptian President Anwar Sadat visited Jerusalem in 1977, the “Steadfastness and Confrontation Front” was formed to oppose any rapprochement with Israel. It included Algeria, Libya, South Yemen, Syria, Iraq and the Palestine Liberation Organisation. Of those, only Algeria remains steadfast today. It endured the so-called “Black Decade” of the 1990s but survived. The question now is whether it will be allowed to remain resilient amidst shifting alliances and regional turbulence.
In a tone of defiance, Tebboune declared: “We will not remain poor. They will not let us rise because they want us to stay with outstretched hands so they can dictate what we must say and do. I am free and I will not trade my freedom for backwardness. I have my own means and I respect others. We are free and will remain proud and independent in our decisions without harming anyone”. His words reflect his belief that legitimacy stems from within, not from foreign approval. Hence his emphasis on building what he called “economic immunity”, recognising that economic decline often leads to social unrest.
Many Algerians echoed their president’s warning, insisting that internal traitors are more dangerous than external enemies. True stability, they said, leaves no room for divided loyalties. Others argued that such warnings are sometimes used to unite the public by portraying an external threat.
Either way, the world is changing and so are alliances and loyalties. Nations must build strong internal fronts. Without a clear vision, strategic direction and genuine reform, they risk endless division and temporary alliances — just as some Arab states have done — leading to further chaos. Those who sought protection through fleeting alliances only served Western and Israeli interests, from Iraq’s destruction to Syria’s devastation. The supposed protection proved an illusion.
Unless Arab nations realise that their true wealth lies in their people — in unity, justice and dignity — and that legitimacy always comes from within, they will remain prisoners of that illusion until their turn comes. And when it does, history will show no mercy.
Translated by Badr al Dhafari
The original version of this article was published in Oman Arabic newspaper on October 20, 2025.
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