Ben Bella, Kennedy and Johnson : cold warriors at the helm, 1962-1965

Abstract EN

This paper examines the formation of United States policy towards Algeria during the presidency of the first Algerian Head of State -Ahmed Ben Bellain the period 1962-1965.

The article analyzes the foreign policy pattern followed by the Kennedy and the Johnson administrations and their interaction with Ben Bella’s political style at home and abroad.

The focus is put on Algeria’s post-independence reconstruction programmes, and its approach to Cold War issues such as Cuba, Vietnam and Sub-Saharan colonial problems.

Research shows that Kennedy, like Johnson, hoped to win Algeria to their side in their conflict with the Eastern Bloc.

However, Ben Bella’s radical character made him a tough Cold Warrior who found American expansionist and interventionist policies incompatible with Algerian socialist orientation.