by Scander Safsaf. 10/04/2018. Algerian Freedom Alliance.

A Bicephalous Truth

By deterrence I meant benefiting from a nuclear one, and applying a form of state coercion also seen as a deterrence. The very “raison d’être” of such security apparatus, beyond the subject of submission, as I will detail later, its justification and anchoring, serve three purposes. A social and an action purpose for the internal audience along with what I would call a “pandora, doomsday” purpose for the international audience.

The Social purpose is the tip of the iceberg, typically a sort of social entanglement whose imprint is somehow visible on the civil society. This imprint forced the various civilian components to inherently accept and integrate such apparatus but to also make no case of its inner autocratic nature, by normalising and humanising this surveillance network. The guy who writes memos and fills stasi like reports about you, your practices…