Podcast Summary: Berber Government: The Kabyle Polity in Pre-Colonial Algeria

Podcast: LSE: Public Lectures and Events
Date: January 12, 2015
Host: LSE Film and Audio Team
Guest/Speaker: Professor Hugh Roberts, Edward Keller Professor of North African and Middle Eastern History, Tufts University

Overview

This episode features a lecture by Professor Hugh Roberts, focusing on his extensive research into the political organization of the Kabyle people in pre-colonial Algeria, as detailed in his book, Berber Government: The Kabyle Polity in Pre-Colonial Algeria. Centered on questions of political anthropology, history, and identity, Roberts challenges dominant theories about Berber societies, arguing for more nuanced and historically informed perspectives. The lecture also touches on broader implications for understanding Algerian politics today and the persistence of Kabyle traditions.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction and Framing (00:00–03:52)

• John King introduces the session, noting the Society for Algerian Studies’ role in promoting Algerian academic topics and introducing Hugh Roberts's credentials.
• Roberts is recognized for founding the Society and his international academic leadership.

2. Structure and Aims of the Book (03:52–11:00)

• The book is split into two parts:
  • First Part: Historical political anthropology; reconstructs Kabyle polity and organization at the time of the French conquest.
  • Second Part: Political history, emphasizing the influence of the Ottoman Regency on Kabyle society.
• Key Quote (05:01):
  "The book really falls into two parts and in a sense consists of two distinct arguments. The first argument is about the nature of what I call the cabio polity...The second half of the book is really just straightforward history..." —Hugh Roberts
• Central themes:
  • The importance of village organization (thaddarth), village assemblies (thajmath), and the key political concept of ‘sfuf’ (factions or rudimentary political parties).
  • The neglect of historical context by prior anthropologists and the need to integrate history to explain observed realities.

3. Kabyle Political Organization: New Perspectives (11:00–28:44)

• Roberts critiques the dominant “segmentarity theory” advanced by Ernest Gellner, which assumes Berber societies lacked formal political institutions and were organized purely on kinship lines.
• He contrasts this with 19th-century French ethnologists who emphasized political institutions, such as the jama‘/thajmath (village assembly).
• Notable moment (19:18):
  "I found myself doing research in the Jojo mountains, and I found that Kabul society most definitely had—and still has—but certainly had then, institutions that were clearly long established." —Hugh Roberts

4. Variations in Settlement and Their Political Ramifications (28:44–36:00)

• Three types of villages:
  • Small kin-based villages (northwest Kabylia)
  • Large, multi-clan villages (central and eastern Jujura)
  • Federated settlements (tufik), a cluster of small settlements united under a single assembly.
• Key Insight (29:56):
  "Kinship is not the premise of political unity. The village may call itself...by a topographical term...but kinship is not the unifying principle; some other principle is. And this is where political organization is, in fact, the explanation." —Hugh Roberts

5. Origins of Roberts's Research Perspective (36:00–43:26)

• Roberts discusses his fieldwork in Kabylia, particularly the village of Athwava, and how this contradicts the segmentarity theory.
• Describes discovering the resilience and relevance of political institutions (fajmath, sufuf) and the active participation in village decisions.

6. The Nature of Law in Kabyle Society (43:32–52:27)

• Roberts critiques misunderstandings about law in Kabyle society—both in French colonial accounts and Pierre Bourdieu's influential sociological interpretation.
• Argues against the binary of customary vs. Islamic law, and contests Bourdieu’s assertion that only the “code of honor” matters.
• Key Quote (46:19):
  "What [Bourdieu] does is to distract us from the much more interesting hypothesis...that the question of law in Kabul society in the pre colonial period was a problem, and that it was problem precisely because there was tension between two different sets of principles, one of them being the code of honor...But...the need of the village, particularly amongst the Igawwin, to preserve order." —Hugh Roberts

7. Political Evolution: From Dynastic Rule to ‘Republican’ Governance (52:27–54:23)

• Kabyle political organization, once dynastic and hierarchical (Aethel Qadi/Kings of Cuckoo), became more participatory through conflict and transformation in the 18th century.

8. Q&A Highlights

French Views and the “Kabyle Myth” (54:23–59:57)

• The French mythologizing of Kabyles as “republican” and more assimilable to French colonial rule becomes prominent during and after the conquest (post-1857).
• Roberts points to Patricia Lorcin’s “Imperial Identities” as an essential reference.

Arabization, Language, and Identity (59:57–62:12)

• Explains the etymology of "Kabyle" (from Arabic “Qaba’il”, meaning “tribes”) and the dynamics of language and Islamization in North Africa.

Modern Resonances: The Movement des Archs, Democratic Aspirations (62:12–71:41)

• The 2001 Arush protest movement in Kabylia merged traditional forms (arsh/arch, citizen assemblies) with demands for citizenship and rights.
• Contemporary Kabyle movements for autonomy and identity are informed by, but not dictated by, past political traditions.
• Roberts warns against equating Berber identity with intrinsic democracy, framing it as a modern reworking of the old “Kabyle myth.”

On Pierre Bourdieu (71:41–75:20)

• Key Quote (71:53):
  "I think he got key elements of Kabilia wrong. He got the honor thing very right. But I think he in a way thought that that was all he needed to understand Kabir in general..." —Hugh Roberts
• Bourdieu’s research during the Algerian War, when traditional institutions were disrupted, may have clouded his understanding.

Economic Structures and Land Tenure (75:25–80:27)

• Three forms of land tenure:
  • Tribal territory (arsh)
  • Village territory (often semi-private, can revert to communal ownership)
  • Commons (meshmel)
• Institutions existed to regulate access and resolve disputes, but these forms are not directly analogous to modern private property.

Dualism and Leadership in Algerian Politics (80:27–85:59)

• Roberts resists overreading dualistic psychology into Kabyle or Algerian politics.
• Points out traditions of competitive political alignment (sfuf), the persistence of pluralism, and historical suspicion of strong leaders.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

"My view is that one cannot understand Kabyl history...in terms of the structural sociological vision pioneered by Gellner in the very different context of the central High Atlas of Morocco. Kabylia is a very different society..."
—[19:08] Hugh Roberts

"Kinship is not the premise of political unity...political organization is, in fact, the explanation."
—[29:56] Hugh Roberts

"The problem of opacity is in the eye of the beholder. And...outsiders' ignorance of Algeria's own political traditions [creates this]."
—[24:30] Hugh Roberts

"He [Bourdieu] got the honor thing very right. But...I think he in a way thought that that was all he needed to understand Kabir in general."
—[71:53] Hugh Roberts

Important Timestamps

• 03:52 — Roberts begins his lecture, outlines book structure
• 11:00 — Critique of segmentarity theory, presentation of institutional perspective
• 28:44 — Detailed discussion on variation in village organization
• 36:00 — Personal fieldwork experiences and their theoretical implications
• 43:32 — The question of law, critique of colonial and sociological models
• 52:27 — Transformation of regional politics, dynastic to participatory governance
• 54:23 — Start of Q&A: the French “Kabyle myth”
• 62:12 — Recent protest movements and their relation to tradition
• 75:20 — Roberts’s critique and partial endorsement of Bourdieu
• 80:27 — On economic institutions and land tenure
• 85:59 — Closing remarks

Conclusion

Professor Hugh Roberts’ lecture provides a wide-ranging, critical, and deeply researched reconsideration of the Kabyle polity in pre-colonial Algeria. He underscores the enduring role of political institutions (against the prevailing segmentarity theory), the complexities of law and social order, and how historical misunderstanding shapes modern narratives—both in scholarship and in Algerian society. The session ends with wide-ranging questions linking history to contemporary politics, identity, and governance, highlighting the continuing relevance of the Kabyle example.