Morocco and the Western Sahara

Abstract

This article offers a detailed summary of the stages of the war that has been waged since the end of Spanish colonial rule in Western Sahara. It documents the forms of struggle used by the Polisario Front in its efforts to end the enforced division of Western Sahara between Morocco and Mauretania in 1976, and, after 1979, the efforts of Morocco to incorporate the territory. It also offers a summary of the international political dimensions of the struggle — the diplomatic and military aid Morocco receives from the West, especially the USA, and the support of some OAU members and in the UN for the rights of self‐determination of the Saharan people. It concludes with an assessment of the impact of the war on Moroccan politics, society and economy.