Leaders figures from the diaspora: new mechanisms of legitimation for the Moroccan state

This paper examines the role played by leaders figures from the Moroccan diaspora as potential instruments of legitimation for the Moroccan state and traditional elites, not just on an international scale and among the Moroccan communities living abroad, but also on a domestic level. Through the case study of specific events that happened to two prominent figures from the Moroccan community in Spain – rapper and songwriter Morad and football player Achraf Hakimi – in 2022, it analyses the legitimation strategies – cooption or coercion – that the Moroccan state employs to ensure that the stance taken in terms of politics and identity, as well as the cultural production, of leaders figures from the diaspora are aligned with its interests and principles at all times.