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Extant scholarship argues that the extent to which Salafis politicized after 2011 was a result of the relative degree of openings that followed the ‘Arab Revolutions’ – from limited reform (Morocco) to full-fledged democratization (Tunisia). Based on a comparative study of Tunisia and Morocco, this paper instead explains the emergence of a politicized, post-Salafi current in both countries in terms of a dialectical relationship between opportunities and constraints emanating from not only state institutions but also societal dynamics such as public hostility and cross-ideological socialization. We argue that although many Tunisian and Moroccan Salafis chose not to engage in institutional politics in the initial years after the uprisings, their exposure to the new democratic environment – including interactions with ideological ‘rivals’, the use of civil liberties, and mobilization in the newly liberalized public sphere – followed by the restoration of institutional and societal constraints after 2013 have given rise to a distinct post-Salafi current. While post-Salafis remain Salafis, they distance themselves from Wahhabism, claim the legacy of national religious references (Maliki Zaytunis in Tunisia, modernist Salafis in Morocco), revise their exclusivist tendencies, and recast politics from an instrumental activity to a legitimate and valuable praxis in and of itself. This constitutes a major departure from globalized, decultured, and exclusivist Salafism towards greater indigenization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the reign of King Mohammed VI, Morocco experienced a rapid expansion in regional economic and military ties that have given a gradual impetus to a shift in regional power constellations. But in the shadow of this hard power trajectory, the Moroccan regime is increasingly capitalizing on its soft power resources as well. In this paper, we demonstrate how the kingdom's considerable cultural capital – arising from religion, historicity, and tradition – has become a political instrument to improve the country's outward image. The regime inter alia employs cultural politics and public diplomacy measures in Islamic and Jewish religious policy, through the commercialization of material and immaterial cultural heritage and through the massive investment into cultural infrastructure to construct a new nation brand and subsequentially solidify Morocco's regional and international soft power standing. This, in turn, has enabled Morocco to more successfully pursue its foreign policy goals, first and foremost its quest to gain sovereignty over the Western Sahara. The research is based on media analysis and original data from semi-structured interviews conducted between February 2020 and February 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies the Europeanization ‘toolkit’ to EU democratization policies in Morocco within the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) framework. To this aim, the bottom-up and top-down dimensions of EU‒Morocco relations are analysed diachronically both before and after the Arab Spring. The analysis shows that the Moroccan ruling elite has used the anchor to the EU as a survival strategy and that the EU has merely responded to Moroccan political liberalization rather than having influenced it. Therefore, the paper debates the extent to which the very notion of Europeanization might be used with respect to democratization policies in Morocco, and it shows an overturning of the sender‒receiver relationship proving that Europeanization has been used instrumentally rather than having any autonomous supportive effect on democratization. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper offers an analysis of democracy promotion through the EIDHR in Morocco and Tunisia, before and after the Arab uprisings. It questions the effect of the Arab insurrections on the EIDHR and European Union democracy promotion. These policies are found to be shaped first and foremost by institutional determinants intrinsic to the EU but secondarily sensitive to the human rights realities in Morocco and Tunisia. Therefore, the Arab uprisings represent a contextual event that can trigger minor adjustments but certainly not truly challenge the essence of EU democracy promotion in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article surveys political activities of selected Islamists in three Arab countries in the Mediterranean region: Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco. Each is notable for recent growth in Islamist political activity in the context of democratization (Tunisia, Egypt) and political liberalization (Morocco). Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco are undergoing political changes consequent to the recent ‘Arab uprising’. The ‘Arab uprising’ involved country-specific yet variable outbursts of popular political anger, although not necessarily with a clear and consistent democratizing focus. Generally, protests focused on interrelated political and socio-economic demands, including: greater ‘freedoms’, improved human rights, better social justice and economic progress, especially more jobs for millions of unemployed youths. The aim of the article is to explain recent developments in relation to the ‘Arab uprising’ in three Mediterranean Arab countries – Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco. The purpose is to complement the individual foci on these countries in subsequent papers in this special issue by providing a thematic overview and to locate the activities of Islamist entities in Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco in comparative context. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper assesses the water privatization dynamics in Casablanca from a socio-economic and political perspective. It presents three main findings. First, the privatization of public water and sanitation in Casablanca took place under the tight control of the central government (the makhzen). While the delegated management was intended to improve water delivery, the outcomes after ten years are disappointing. Second, the public accountability of local elected officials came under strain due mainly to the power imbalances between a weak local delegating authority and a delegate with global power. Third, Casablanca's inhabitants have resorted to social protests to make their voice heard and claim their human right to water. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This contribution examines to what extent the EU includes Moroccan and Tunisian civil society actors in bilateral political processes in the two policy domains of trade liberalization and anti-corruption. It finds that while the EU has strongly committed itself to more such interaction, gaps between its discourses and its practices remain. We observe variance between both sectors and both countries. Civil society is much more substantially included in EU policy processes in Tunisia than in Morocco, which is partly due to the EU's respect for some of Moroccan government's red lines. Moreover, the EU tends to be more open towards including civil society on transparency and anti-corruption than on trade. This may at least partly be explained by the fact that EU interests are more aligned with those of civil society on the former than on the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws on three years of immersive field experience to analyse the long-term effects of repression on contentious practices in Morocco. Informed by Charles Tilly's insights about contentious practices, I show how activists from various organizations – the Moroccan Truth and Justice Forum; Islamists from Justice and Beneficence; and the February 20 Movement (the Moroccan manifestation of the Arab popular uprisings) – carefully chose the type of action they took, the number of people they mobilized, and the precise time and location of their actions. This self-limitation was based on their assessments of what authorities would tolerate. It allowed activists to continue their work without the dire consequences that occur during times of harsh repression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines Morocco's migration diplomacy with a focus on the New Migration Policy (NMP) it launched in 2013 as a destination country. It argues that the NMP serves the objectives of Moroccan foreign policy towards both Africa and the EU, as international socialization by/with the latter remains a primary driving force for the country's migration policies. The main recent change in Morocco-EU socialization has been a return from norm-driven role playing to an overt exhibition of rational choice and a transactional attitude around migration and border control practices – while role playing has been reoriented towards Africa and the wider international community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution uses the National Initiative for Human Development in Morocco as a case study to show the effects of ‘inclusive’ neoliberal local governance reforms on local state–society relations and the redeployment of state power. This initiative, launched by the king in 2005, is designed to improve socio-economic conditions in targeted poor areas through new participatory local governance mechanisms. The article argues, first, that these mechanisms in fact serve to strengthen the power of the appointed representatives of the Ministry of the Interior, especially at the province level, at the expense of local governments. Second, the findings show that by instrumentalizing local associations to access INDH funds, local councillors base their legitimacy increasingly on their renewed alliance with the king through the INDH and the clientelist relations it allows them to maintain, rather than on their status as political representatives. This contributes to the fragmentation and weakening of local (political) accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Extensive trade liberalization - mainly through the dismantling of all tariffs on European manufactured products - will be the most direct and concrete effect of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership for Mediterranean Partner Countries (MPCs). This essay first undertakes an analytical review of the social impact of the creation of the Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Areas (EMFTAs), taking into account their effects on employment, income (wages and otherwise), prices of consumer goods, state social expenditure and other economic variables. There follows a brief case study of the magnitude of the EMFTAs' social impact on Morocco. Finally, the study seeks to identify which national policies and which aecompanyjng measures within the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership could be used to "mitigate the negative social consequences which may result" from the EMFTAs and hence strengthen their social and political sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morocco and Mauritania's regimes differ radically in their political structures and contemporary histories, yet they employed several similar strategies to secure survival during the Arab uprisings. Besides limited repression, constitutional reforms and palliative concessions, both regimes also used a distinct strategy of co-optation to aid authoritarian resilience. Targeting rural politicians with weak party affiliations for co-optation, regimes used it to build and reinforce loyalist political parties in the late 2000s. Once the uprisings began, both regimes deployed these loyalist parties to undertake counter-revolutionary activities to contain and counterbalance the power of youth and Islamist movements. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This contribution focuses on the ‘Arab Spring’ in Morocco and on the interactions between the mainly urban-based activists that made up the 20 February Movement (F20M), and the population in rural areas. Based on six weeks of fieldwork between November 2013 and March 2014, mostly in the areas in and near Marrakech, we find that while the urban F20M events stimulated and inspired protests in rural areas, in practice there were only sporadic contacts based on the activists' personal feelings of belonging rather than their organizational membership. This is mainly due to discursive disconnects between the centre and periphery. As for the outcomes, in particular the new constitution, many respondents believe that nothing has changed so far. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The democratic wave seems to have finally reached the shores of the Middle East. Nevertheless, some countries have been less affected than others. Morocco in particular is singled out as an ‘exception’ and, despite large protests beginning in February 2011, the country seems not to have experienced significant democratic change. This article questions the degree to which Morocco is indeed an exception. Building on an analysis of the political context prior to the protests, it explores the political adjustments that the Moroccan regime has been forced to undertake following the demonstrations inspired by the Arab Spring. Largely unnoticed by international observers, Morocco has also undergone what may well be a watershed moment in its history. This article argues that changes to the political system as a result of the Arab uprisings may have far greater long-term significance than it appears at first glance. The case of Morocco exemplifies the paradox of analysing Arab politics as if the paradigms of democratization and of authoritarian resilience are in opposition to each other. This is not the case, as many of their assumptions can be collapsed in a single explanatory framework which can genuinely account for regional developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demonstrations by thousands of young people since 20 February 2011 have re-launched the debate on the position of the young and their social, economic and political conditions in Moroccan society. This article examines that position and these conditions, revealing a series of social changes that justify our speaking of the emergence of a new sociological generation. It also analyses the 20th February Movement, its nature, its limits and its achievements, as well as the Moroccan regime's responses to it. The conclusions are that the movement's demands represent the vanguard of the reformist agenda and are the tip of the iceberg of the changes experienced by young people. Thus it is possible that we can speak here about a new historical generation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article discusses the transformation of the Moroccan state under contemporary neoliberal globalization, and considers what this transition means for the ways in which scholars view state-society interplay in Morocco and the Arab world more generally. Specifically, it examines the protest of unemployed graduates in Morocco, suggesting that public demonstrations are not only a means to communicate and mobilize demands, but also a technology to reclaim and reproduce a particular 'truth' in public. This truth does not necessarily equate with the reality of the neoliberal state as a dispersed material force. As such, by looking at the case of Morocco, we hope to instigate further debate on the nature of the state and its specific relation to phenomena as globalization, society and social protest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the reform of the Moroccan Personal Status Code and its shortcomings. It argues that despite the success of the reform campaign, a number of problems prevent the new Family Code from having a proper and lasting effect on Moroccan society. The article explores these issues, which are of a legal as well as a social nature, and contends that in order for the reformed Code to be fully implemented and gender equality to be instituted in all spheres of public and private life, an all-encompassing economic and educational reform has to go hand in hand with social changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reforms that Morocco has undertaken in various sectors constitute an identifiable programme. Beginning with political reforms in the 1990s, reforms have expanded into a broader range of fields. The model for these reforms is clearly a Western, especially European one. Actors within the kingdom have pushed for reforms but their progress owes much to external pressure and a desire on the part of the Moroccan authorities to project a moderate and progressive image in Western countries. Resistance to aspects of these reforms has, however, come from within the regime, which wishes to preserve the political powers of the monarchy and also from elements within Moroccan society anxious about fundamental changes to national and cultural identity. The reform process in Morocco remains a dynamic process and in this way contrasts to the stasis found in nearly all other southern Mediterranean countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a Joint Document on the Strengthening of Bilateral Relations/Advanced Status adopted by the European Union (EU) and the Kingdom of Morocco which lists a series of actions constituting a roadmap for developing EU-Morocco bilateral relations towards an advanced status. These actions listed in the document covered the country's political, economic, financial, social and human dimensions, as well as its participation in certain Community agencies and programmes. However, it says that bilateral relations between the two countries have continued in a business as usual mode since the document's publication. The article also mentions the strengthening of bilateral relations of the EU with Mediterranean partners.

Since the early 1990s, political reforms in Morocco have emphasized the establishment of a state based on the rule of law. Such references to the rule of law have often been attached to political projects such as alternance (1998-2002) or anti-corruption campaigns that stressed the administrative supremacy of laws. Given the fact that Morocco remains an authoritarian state, it is the aim of this article to illustrate that the meaning of rule of law is subject to political debates and that at the core of these debates is the liberal-democratic potential implied in the rule of law. This article suggests that such normative debates are part of a power field in which different types of meanings are attached to reforms and debates. Actual reforms in Morocco in the area of justice have had the result of multiplying meanings. To overcome the limits inherent in a plurality of meanings, it is suggested that reforms in the area of justice need to clarify the meaning of the rule of law and need to be based on a transparent debate among stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morocco is typically held up as a shining example of reform among Arab countries. Indeed, a series of important reforming measures has been taken during the last decade, leading to a level of political liberalism unseen in the region. The European Union and its member states have been key partners for Morocco on its way towards economic, social and political reform through substantial financial and political support. As of today, Morocco is the country which receives the largest amount of EU aid in the European Neighbourhood. At the same time, while the EU pushes economic reforms and integration vigorously forward, it displays far less stamina when it comes to putting pressure on Moroccan political elites to implement meaningful political reform. There is no doubt that the political reforms undertaken under the reign of King Mohammed VI have turned Morocco into an island of liberalism compared to its autocratic neighbours. Yet hopeful European talk of a regional model of democratization is misplaced. Political reforms, instead of being steps in a consistent, overarching process towards democracy, have been ad hoc, selective and often superficial. Most importantly, Morocco's semi-authoritarian power structures, and the concentration of all meaningful power in the hands of the palace, remain unchanged. Some wonder whether the upcoming new framework of EU-Moroccan partnership under the 'advanced status' will imply a substantive new impetus in this regard. Meanwhile, with the support of the EU and other international partners, Morocco is modernizing and partly liberalizing. But it remains far from - and might not even be heading towards - genuine democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The so-called informal economy dominates everyday life in contemporary Morocco. An overwhelming majority of the urban population operates outside the 'formalized national economy' in which it is either unable to participate or can participate only under unequal and demeaning terms. The aim of the present article is two-fold. First, it seeks to interrogate the very notion of 'informality'. As a social phenomenon, the 'informal economy' is real enough, but what does it refer to exactly? And what is the nature of the relationship between formal and informal economic activities? Second, the article seeks to discuss the implications of the globalization of capitalism for the complex 'informal' economic sectors in Morocco. More specifically, how has the launching of so-called structural adjustment policies in the early 1980s further marginalized those in the already marginal areas of the economy? At another level, how has globalization contributed to the growth and invigoration of marginal economic activities and structures? And, finally, what are some of the cultural and political implications of the so-called informal economy? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that the public policies in Morocco are now focused on human development and the population's living conditions. According to the author, terrorist attacks and works of radical Islamists triggered the shift of the public policies' focus. The author stated that the authorities in Morocco launched the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH) to support the shift of focus.

Assesses the impact of the U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement (FTA) for Morocco. Effect on Moroccan textile and agricultural sectors; Political objectives pursued by Morocco in line with the FTA; Public opinion in Morocco on the FTA.

This article attempts to broaden our knowledge concerning modes of government in Morocco. This is achieved through an analysis of the mobilization surrounding agricultural policy reform in the late 1990s, with special emphasis placed upon two key issues: firstly, the introduction of practices and discourses of “good governance” to define and implement agricultural policy; and secondly, the mechanisms of governability that influenced these practices and discourses. Using this as a departure point, the following elements are examined: the reactive nature of the reform and the measures that accompanied it; the scarce and discriminatory nature of interest group articulation in the agricultural sector; and the twofold subordination of Moroccan agriculture to political and economic imperatives. These elements led to the hegemony of the discursive sphere, which was subsequently transformed into another model of governability. Finally, conclusions are drawn regarding the question of the functionality and limitations of the reform discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cannabis industry contributes considerably to income and employment opportunities, investment levels and the foreign exchange income of Morocco. Integrating this sector into societal institutions and making it responsive to wider needs of state and society is however difficult, especially since prohibition tends to obliterate many of those institutions through which diverse interests could be calibrated. The criminalization of the drug trade furthermore opens an avenue for the coercive apparatuses of states to extort money from the drug industry, run protection rackets over populations and inflict harm on selected targets. Developments in the Americas have shown how devastating such (relative) anarchy can be for the institutions that might foster peace, stability, democracy, development, justice and the protection of human rights. As it is these goals and related principles that are expressed in the documents pertaining to the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, more attention should be given to creating institutions and regulatory practices that could advance such goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For about a decade the European Union has imposed conditions on the delivery of financial aid to third countries in order to promote economic, institutional and political reform. This approach has also been applied to the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, which provides rather sophisticated legal and institutional resources to organize political conditionality. Whilst the general advancement of human rights remains a major topic for Euro-Mediterranean co-operation the efficiency of the conditionality methodology in supporting social and economic rights, as compared to strictly political rights, remains uncertain. This study examines the actual enforcement of such social conditionality in the case of two test countries, namely Morocco and Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comparing the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita between 189 neighbouring countries reveals that the worldwide average economic difference is 3.5. Focusing on the most unequal cases we have found that their global relationships share several characteristics that are related to their economic differential. This article devotes special attention to the case of Morocco and Spain. In 1970 Spanish GDP per capita was four times higher than Morocco's. Since then the differential has grown exponentially to reach 13. Without an active policy aimed at reducing it, this economic 'step' will be likely to increase, together with the risks associated with such acute inequality. The step between Spain and Morocco is compared here with the cases of USA-Mexico and Germany-Poland, where different sets of policies have successfully reduced the step, while Mexico and Poland have achieved a stabilization of their democracies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Islamist Party of Justice and Development (PJD)contested the legislative elections held in Morocco in September 2002 and was expected to do well. However, despite a favourable electoral climate, the PJD's electoral chances were complicated by, first, a call to boycott the elections from Morocco's largest Islamist movement and, second, the party's own reluctance to be seen to perform too well and thus invite an adverse reaction from the Moroccan regime. The party appeared to deliberately limit its campaign but still tripled its representation and became the third largest party in the Parliament. It decided not to join the new governing coalition, preferring to become, for strategic reasons, the largest opposition party. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the difficulties of studying European foreign policy is establishing what should be analysed as its domestic dimension. Intergovernmentalist accounts, focusing on the bargaining among member states' executives, prevail over multi-level analyses which also study European institutions, non-governmental actors and sub-national governments. This article focuses on the formation of the EU position in the negotiations with Morocco for a fisheries agreement in 2000-01. In those negotiations, very specific fisheries interests prevailed over general foreign policy considerations in the relationship with a privileged EU partner. A multi-level analysis helps us understand how narrow interests succeed in gaining priority over strategic considerations in the formulation of European foreign policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]