In Algerian politics, the term Kabylist may be used to refer to Kabyle nationalist parties, such as the MAK which support autonomy for Kabylie, or argue that the Kabyles constitute a people unto themselves and distinct from other Algerians.
Kabyles differ from other Berbers due to their secularism, high education rate and strong links with the West.
Kabylism, or kabyle nationalism, is a political and cultural movement for the recognition of national aspirations of Kabylia and the empowerment of kabyle-speaking people in Kabylia. Its political corollary is the kabyle sovereign , various trends (autonomy, federalism, independence) with the goal: creating a Kabyle sovereign state whit the Kabyle as the only official language. Kabylism differs from Berberism by affirming the kabyle specific identity and its primacy over all others, including in all berber-speaking territory. The Kabylism belongs to the family of nationalism called "liberation", along with Catalan or Basque nationalism. Its antithesis is Algerian, ideology that Algerians as a whole, beyond linguistic and religious differences, would form a historical nation. Proponents of the Algerian are overwhelmingly Kabyle themselves.
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It is difficult to accurately locate the origins of kabylism, however, some sources tend to confirm that the kabylism already existed in the 18th century. At that time the Brotherhood Rahmaniya qualified as defender of Kabylism [1].
The history of kabylism is closely related to berberism and for good reason: berberism was (paradoxically) born of kabylism.