This set collects together a range of titles that together examine a broad spectrum of North African topics. A book on Algeria studies the independence movement as it assumed the responsibilities of power, another examines the process of decolonisation in Algeria. Other titles focus on development and politics in North Africa, and "The Last Arab Jews" details the last remaining Jewish community in the region.

North Africa differs from the Middle East in several significant ways. It was subject to a uniform colonial experience as part of the French empire; its populations are far more culturally homogeneous than those of the Middle East; and, since the "Reconquista," it has always been far more susceptible to European influences than has the Middle East. It has thus had a far better basis for regional integration and for effective state formation than has the Middle East itself.

In the post-Cold War world, North Africa took on a new significance for Europe as issues of migration and regional...