Introduction. Political elites and dynamics of legitimation in North Africa: the connection between domestic and international spheres

There have been several overlapping crises in North Africa in recent decades. The social contract is in crisis, and this became clear during the antiauthoritarian uprisings of 2011 to 2019. In addition, the region is locked in a socioeconomic crisis that deepened after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and has been aggravated by the global impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This paper underscores the need to reflect on the legitimation of the North African elites in this context, looking at the connection between the domestic and international spheres. It also presents various legitimation strategies that take in the interaction between the domestic and external spaces. This approach seeks to enrich the debate on the relationship between authoritarianism, its legitimation and the international dimension.