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and the production of local elites, all the benevolent techniques summarized under the old principle of “divide and rule,” had long been efficient means of transforming and civilizing, that is to say exploiting, ruling, and often, if not always, eradicating or exterminating communities and ways of life. Writing of Algeria in the 1830s and 1840s, Tocqueville is well aware of the fine nuances of political and military rules and its effects and he unapologetically advocates a view from above that would later become the pilot’s vantage point. Tocqueville affirms the importance of distinguishing between “the two great races” that inhabit the conquered land. “It is obvious that we must tame these men through our arts and not through our weapons [ il est évident que c’est par nos arts et non par nos armes qu’il s’agit de dompter de pareils hommes ]” (Tocqueville, Sur l’Algérie , 52). But the distinction he proposes goes further than the recognition of different races, and of different ruling techniques. It is more refined, more discriminating. It divides reality and redistributes knowledge along novel lines. “With the Kabyles, one must address questions of civil and commercial equity; with the Arabs, questions of politics and religion” (ibid.). It is not just that there is a difference between Kabyle and Arab, then, but also that the very epistemological realm to which each “group” belongs is, in fact, different. Further on, Tocqueville will calibrate his concerns further, zooming in on the distinction between religion and politics. It is imperative, he says, to downplay the religious hostility that opposes the Muslims to the French – who are clearly perceived, and perceiving themselves, as Christians. Instead, Muslims must be made to feel that their religion is not in danger, that colonialism is not a war of religion. The goal of this pacification (an infamous euphemism, if there ever was one) is nonetheless clear. “Thus, religious passions will finally die down and we shall have only political enemies in Africa” (Tocqueville, Sur l’Algérie , 59). Tocqueville understands, of course, that the distinction between religion and politics is quite tenuous, and difficult to maintain in Algeria and elsewhere. Still, in defining the political enemy as distinct from the religious enemy, he is forcefully deploying the division of knowledge that, characteristic of
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