The Arab Spring Boosts Constitutional Recognition of the Amazigh Language in Algeria

Nawel Lasledj

Professor of Public Law in the Department of Law, Faculty of Law and Political Science at the University of 20 August 1955 – Skikda, Algeria.

From Arab Spring to Amazigh Spring

The Algerian people have had a long and ongoing struggle that began with the war of liberation from French colonialism and will not end with the popular uprising during the Arab Spring revolutions of 2011 and beyond. The Algerian people's uprising during the Arab Spring, in pursuit of freedom, equal citizenship, and democracy, was reflected in significant constitutional amendments, including amendments related to equal citizenship and specifically concerning Algeria and the recognition of the Amazigh (Berber) identity. My analysis in this blog post draws on Francesco Biagi's book, Constitution-Building After the Arab Spring: A Comparative Perspective as an intellectual foundation. The aim is to extend, test, challenge, or refine these claims through comparative constitutional analysis.

Algeria is among the Arab countries that responded to popular demands for a national identity crisis whose roots extend back to the 1940s, also known as the "Berber Crisis." This crisis continued with the events of March 10, 1980, in the Kabylie region, as well as the "Black Spring" of 2001. Following these events, Algeria initiated a series of constitutional reforms to preserve national unity and prevent further escalation. The first step was to define Algerian identity in its three pillars: Islam, Arabism, and Amazighity, as outlined in the preamble to the 1996 Constitution. This was based on a complex, intertwined structure formed through a long historical process of interaction and overlap, rooted in the Arabic language and the Islamic religion on account of their contribution to defining the features of the national character. Progress continued with the constitutional recognition and promotion of Amazigh as a national language under the 2002 constitutional amendment. Under the 2016 constitutional amendment, it became an official language alongside Arabic; this achievement was further reinforced by the successive Algerian constitutional amendments of 2020 and 2026, establishing it as a national constant.

Biagi analyzes how North African constitutionalism addresses indigenous identity and minority linguistic rights. He traces the constitutional trajectory of the Amazigh language (Tamazight) in Algeria, from its initial recognition as a "national language" (following earlier constitutional amendments) to its eventual elevation to an “official language” alongside Arabic (established in the 2016 constitutional revision under then President Bouteflika and reaffirmed in the post-Hirak 2020 revision).

With the unfolding of the Arab Spring, which the regime feared would spread to Algeria, protests known as the "Oil and Sugar Uprisings" erupted in January 2011 and continued until April 2011. This culminated in the 2016 constitutional amendment, which elevated the Amazigh language to official status under Article 4. This article stipulated that "Tamazight is also a national and official language. The state works to promote and develop it in all its linguistic variations used throughout the national territory." Paragraph 2 of the same article stipulated the creation of an Algerian Academy of the Amazigh Language, placed under the authority of the President of the Republic. Based on experts’ work, the Academy was tasked with creating the conditions to promote Tamazight and eventually realize its status as an official language. This article was implemented through a 2018 law establishing the Algerian Academy of the Amazigh Language. The Amazigh New Year, which falls on the twelfth of January, was adopted as an official national holiday under Law No. 18-12.

Constitutional Recognition of the Amazigh Language After a Long Struggle

The previous Algerian constitutions of 1963, 1976, and 1989 overlooked cultural diversity. This was due to the state's centralized nature and adherence to a traditional model of state-building that rejected pluralism and diversity, viewing them as sources of division and threats to national unity and stability, given the presence of diverse ideological or cultural groups susceptible to foreign influence. However, escalating ideological tensions and the public's persistent demands for their rights following the "Black Spring" confrontations led the late President Bouteflika to enact a constitutional amendment in 2002. This amendment stipulated that "Tamazight is also a national language; the State shall work to promote and develop it in all its linguistic varieties used across the national territory," while maintaining Arabic as the sole official language of the Algerian state.

Francesco Biagi notes (pp. 44-45) that the 2016 constitutional reform was not submitted to a popular referendum but was instead presented exclusively to Parliament, due to concerns about low turnout. One might argue that this approach reflected apprehension that the electorate could oppose the constitutional changes, thereby jeopardizing the government's ability to enact the amendments, address Amazigh nationalist demands, and mitigate political unrest. Constitutional protection was further strengthened when the 2020 Algerian constitutional amendment enshrined the rights of Amazigh culture in Article 223, which prohibits any future constitutional amendment from infringing upon the status of Arabic and Amazigh as the two official national languages.

Conversely, these reforms aimed to align the constitution with international declarations on the protection and preservation of cultural and linguistic diversity, as well as the human rights values and principles articulated in numerous conventions ratified by Algeria.

Challenges Following the Official Recognition of the Amazigh 

The shift in Algerian constitutions following the 2011 Arab Spring helped move the country from monolingualism to multilingualism, ensure social, cultural, and political balance, and forge alliances with modernist currents. Yet it represented a significant step toward preserving national identity. Implementation, however, has remained confined to local or regional levels within Amazigh-speaking areas, leading to several challenges.

The teaching of the Amazigh language has not been generalized. Although specialized departments for Amazigh language and culture were established in Algerian universities and departments were created in coordination with the High Commission for Amazighness following the Arab Spring, data on Amazigh education between 2013 and 2016 show that the increase in student numbers is concentrated primarily in specific cities, revealing vast regional disparities in how the language is taught.

A further obstacle to the language's widespread adoption is its status as an elective rather than a compulsory subject, unlike Arabic, French, and English. This has led some to avoid studying or learning it, representing a significant setback for the adoption of the Amazigh language. The Amazigh language faces marginalization even by Amazigh people themselves, many of whom choose to write in foreign languages ​​like French rather than using Amazigh. They often view it merely as a collection of oral dialects rather than an academic language, creating a gap between the constitutional mandate and practical reality. Additionally, the delay and sluggishness in establishing the Algerian Academy of the Amazigh Language, combined with a lack of financial and human resources for Amazigh language education, have rendered the constitutional provision ineffective and meaningless.

Conclusion

The enshrining of Amazigh as an official language in Algeria following the "Arab Spring" uprisings aimed to strengthen the consolidation and unification of national identity, thereby bolstering the stability of the Algerian political system. This move also sought to close gaps that could be exploited to destabilize the regime or sow discord and discrimination among the citizenry. The recognition of Amazigh as an official language, and more generally the package of constitutional reforms, was mainly a situational response to contain a crisis, reflecting the tendency for Algerian constitutions to be made in response to “constitutional crisis”. Nevertheless, this does not negate the existence of a political will, however symbolic, to implement the measure. Indeed, as Biagi notes, the official constitutional recognition of the Amazigh language “represents, also in symbolic terms, a way of better integrating a segment of the population that has long been discriminated against and that has suffered from long-standing prejudice” (pp. 271-272). Constitutional recognition alone, however, is not enough to elevate the status of the Amazigh language. Meaningful progress requires active use in daily life, professional settings, and official communication. In this regard, there is still a long way to go, but the hope is that progress will be made quickly. 

Nawel Lasledj is a Professor of Public Law in the Department of Law, Faculty of Law and Political Science at the University of 20 August 1955 – Skikda, Algeria. 

Suggested Citation: Nawel Lasledj, ‘The Arab Spring Boosts Constitutional Recognition of the Amazigh Language in Algeria’ IACL-AIDC Blog (13 October 2026) https://