Djallel Khechib, research fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA), recently authored a policy paper published by the Luiss Mediterranean Platform at the Luiss School of Government in Rome, Italy.
This paper argues that the likelihood of a direct military conflict between Algeria and Morocco has increased significantly—and that such a confrontation could erupt at any moment. It identifies key indicators and factors suggesting that both countries are “joining the club” of “sleepwalkers into war.”
These include mounting pressures within the international system, diverging security visions and perceptions, and the intensification of the regional security dilemma, which is generating a “spiral of insecurity.” In addition, the fragility of economic interdependence and the stagnation of regional institutions are exacerbating the situation, as is the “weaponization of shared culture,” which further fuels tensions between the two states.
Drawing on insights from International Relations theory, the paper analyzes the current landscape and emphasizes the urgent need to address this escalating crisis. It cautions that if these issues are not urgently addressed, both countries—driven by dangerous illusions of control, rationality, and assumed strategic advantage—could stumble into a catastrophic war, with far-reaching and devastating consequences for themselves and the broader region.”
Read and download the full paper here: LINK
Djallel Khechib is a researcher in Geopolitics and International Relations, and a research fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA) at Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Türkiye. He currently resides in Rome, Italy, where he has just completed his third Master’s program — this time in Mediterranean Cooperation and Security — at the Luiss School of Government, Luiss Guido Carli University, with a graduation project on “Emerging Middle Powers’ Rivalry Over the Maritime Ports and Routes in the Wider Mediterranean and Its Implications for European Security – The Case of Türkiye and the UAE in the 21st Century-” (In English)
He holds a second Master’s degree (with thesis) in Political History of the Middle East and International Relations from the Institute of Middle Eastern and Muslim Countries, Marmara University, Istanbul, which he completed in 2019 after securing a prestigious Turkish government excellence scholarship in 2014.
Additionally, Khechib is a PhD candidate (the final year) at the Department of Asian Studies and International Relations, Faculty of Political Science and International Relations, University of Algiers 3. Previously, he earned a Master’s degree (with thesis) in Asian Studies and International Relations from the same university (2013–2017) and a Bachelor’s degree (with thesis) in International Relations from the University of Constantine (2005–2009). He was consistently the top student in his undergraduate and Master’s programs, graduating the first ranked student in his cohort.
In 2015, he received another scholarship for academic excellence from Algeria’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, allowing him to undertake a short-term scientific internship at Sakarya University, Türkiye.
Originally from Algeria, Khechib moved to Türkiye in 2014, where he gained nine years of academic and professional experience. During this period, he collaborated with numerous Turkish and Arab research centers both locally and internationally. He also spent a year in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, further expanding his academic and cultural horizons.
Since 2015, Khechib has been affiliated with many research institutions, including IDRAK Center for Studies and Consultations (Istanbul), the Egyptian Institute for Studies (Istanbul), the International Relations Academy (Istanbul), SETA Foundation’s Turkish Insight Journal (Istanbul), IHH INSAMER Center for Humanitarian and Social Studies (Istanbul), TRT Arabi (Istanbul), and Siyaset Arabbiya Journal, published by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (Doha), Future for Advanced Research and Studies (Abu Dhabi, U.A.E), the Mediterranean Platform (Rome), among others. In 2024, he began a new chapter in Rome, Italy, where he is currently based.
Khechib’s research spans a wide range of topics, including geopolitics, international relations theory, great power politics and the International System/order, and the geopolitics of Eurasia, the South China Sea, North Africa, and the Mediterranean region. He has a particular interest in the foreign policies of the United States, China, Russia, Türkiye, and Algeria.
An accomplished scholar, Khechib has been writing regularly since 2010. He has published over 50 academic studies in peer-reviewed journals and research centers across the Arab world and internationally, alongside 55 academic translations of academic works in geopolitics and international relations/IR from English to Arabic. His contributions also include 150 academic summaries of articles and studies authored by leading scholars in geopolitics and international relations, published in Geopolitical Compass Reports and Geopolitics Bridges Magazine, issued by CIGA in English, Arabic, and Turkish. From 2019 to now-2025, he has served as the executive editor and supervisor of these publications and oversaw CIGA’s Critical Voices platform.
In December 2018, Khechib won first place in the Dr. Mahathir Mohamad International Award for Intellectual Creativity, organized by the Kuala Lumpur Forum for Thought and Civilization in Malaysia. His winning research, “The Impact of Islamic Movements on Malaysia’s Democratic Transition: Islamization of Democracy or Democratization of Islam?”, formed the basis of one of his published books.
Khechib’s authored books include:
“The Struggle for Free Will: Turkish Foreign Policy in a Changing International System (1923-2017)” (Second Ed 2024).
“The Liberal International Order: Rise or Fall? John Ikenberry VS John Mearsheimer” (2021).
“The Prospects for Democratic Transition in Russia, a Critical Study for Structures and Challenges”, (2015).
In addition to his publications, Khechib has presented research papers at numerous international academic conferences and participated as a guest speaker in seminars, workshops, and training sessions in countries such as Algeria, Türkiye, Qatar, Russia, Iran, the UAE, Jordan, Lebanon, Italy, and Spain.
Khechib is a native Arabic speaker and conducts his research in Arabic, English, French, and Turkish.