After destroying the initial five-state Maghreb Union, Algeria has brought together cash-strapped Tunisia and war-torn Libya in a bid to create a new regional union. After decades of backing separatist militias in Morocco, Algeria has lost credibility in backing Libya’s western faction against the Haftar-led east. It has backed authoritarianism in once-democratic Tunisia and then withdrew its staff from the Rabat-based Arab Maghreb Union. Last year, secretary general of the Maghreb Union urged Algeria to pay its due contribution and return its staff who have been receiving their pay without working. In seeking to isolate Morocco at all costs, Algeria has been taking self-harming decisions that ended up isolating itself.
