Physical violence and psychological violence act in a cause-and-effect manner in decolonization. After the war, criminality and physical violence as a whole declines due to the collective efforts of the united Algerians to attain independence. Algerians no longer project violence toward each other as war and physical violence brought about unity amongst the nation via a united front. Before decolonization, psychological violence was an underlying issue but still apparent in the dehumanization of the Algerians by their colonizers. This unbearable psychological state is a driving force in the Algerians’ revolt for independence, indicative that the psychological argument for violence could be a subset of the political one.    However, the physical violence that the Algerians both inflicted and endured has resulted in severe psychological distress.

The Manichaean world has established the French as the public enemy for the Algerians, causing the Algerians to possess a constant war-like mentality. Due to the atmosphere of war, the Algerians are essentially programmed to kill Europeans. The effects of this are even in children who have grown up in this atmosphere of perpetual violence. A gruesome example of this can be found in Series B, Case No. 1 in which two 13 and 14 year old Algerians murder their European playmate. Although violence is deemed the solution to decolonization, children who grow up in colonial Algeria possess an uncontrollable instinct to inflict violence on Europeans, but not because they are resentful. This psychological case can be used to undermine the political argument for violence. Violence is used in decolonization in order to better the future of the nation. However, the nation’s children are its future, and its children are inherently violent due to the conditions in which they have undergone childhood and maturation.

Although, according to Fanon, violence is the key to decolonization, its true importance is questionable due to its cause-and-effect nature and the resulting psychological damage to both parties involved in the conflict. Because violence is systemic and fundamental in the colonial world, it is necessary in order to escape domination and oppression as a nonviolent compromise is not feasible. The Manichaean world that the French establish dehumanizes the natives, giving them psychological motivation to combat the violent atmosphere generated from the vast divide of the nation with spontaneous brute force. Through the viewpoints of “On Violence” and “Spontaneity,” the psychological argument for violence is simply a subset of the political one.  However, after decolonization, the future of the entire new nation is jeopardized by economic struggles and psychological damage, thus undermining the political argument for violence.  Severe cases of mental disorders become prevalent throughout the nation, even in French officials who fought and tortured Algerians. Algerians, through decolonization, have been forced to abandon their psychological health for the hope of a better future for the nation as a whole.
