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Abstract
The survival of the Moroccan monarchy amidst the wave of protests that characterised the Arab uprisings did not come as a surprise to observers of the Kingdom. Despite the size of the protests in February 2011, demonstrators never demanded the fall of the monarchy and the king was never in danger of being dethroned. Once the King reclaimed political leadership through the launch of a constitutional reform, the protest movement faded and whatever challenge to the pre-eminence of the monarchy might have existed ended quickly. A number of explanations have been advanced for the survival of authoritarianism in Morocco, but they generally rehash conventional wisdoms about Moroccan politics that might no longer be as valid as they were in past. Less obvious factors, ranging from repressive practices to ‘de-politicisation through technocracy’ and from the complex impact of neo-liberal economics on social relations to divisions within the opposition, contributed to the survival of the monarchy.
Acknowledgments
The author is very grateful to Anass El Kyak for his research assistance. He is also indebted to Lorenzo Kamel and to the anonymous referees for their invaluable comments.
Notes
1 Rachidi, “Au Maroc”.
2 Colombo, “Morocco at the Crossroads”, 1.
3 Vermeren, Le Maroc de Mohammed VI.
4 This was in 1998, but the PJD already existed under the name Popular Democratic and Constitutional Movement and participated in the 1997 legislative elections. The PJD has progressively increased its share of votes and seats in parliament. While the party has a very conservative social agenda, it is ‘moderate’ in that it has accepted the primacy of the monarchy in the political system, preferring collaboration to radical opposition. For a history of the party, see Wegner, Islamist Opposition.
5 CESEM, Cohérence des politique sectorielles, 36.
6 Colombo, “Morocco at the Crossroads”.
7 Tohry, “Le Climat des Affaires”.
8 Morocco is present in 14 different countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the first destination of Moroccan FDIs, with Moroccan businesses most active in telecommunications, banking and infrastructure. Ministėre de l’Economie et des Finances, Relations Maroc-Afrique, 18, 20.
9 Cavatorta and Dalmasso, “Liberal Outcomes through Undemocratic Means”.
10 Vairel, “Morocco: from Mobilizations to Reconciliation?”.
11 Colombo, “Morocco at the Crossroads”, 4
12 Bogaert, “The Revolt of Small Towns”.
13 Chomiak and Entelis, “Making of North Africa’s Intifadas”. Achcar, Le peuple veut.
14 Faysse, “The Rationale of the Green Morocco Plan”. Bahgat, “Morocco Energy Outlook”.
15 Bouzahzah and El-Menyari, “International Tourism and Economic Growth”.
16 Nations Unies Commission économique pour l’Afrique, Profil des pays. Maroc, 13.
17 Bogaert, “Paradigms Lost in Morocco”.
18 Willis, Politics and Power.
19 Desrues and Kirlhani, “Activism under Authoritarianism”.
20 Cavatorta and Dalmasso, “Liberal Outcomes through Undemocratic Means”.
21 Abdel-Samad, “Why Reform not Revolution”.
22 Ibid., 805.
23 Madani et al., The 2011 Moroccan Constitution, 50.
24 Benchemsi, “Morocco: Outfoxing the Opposition”.
25 Dalmasso, “Surfing the Democratic Tsunami”.
26 Theophilopoulou, “Morocco’s New Constitution”, 694.
27 Heydemann, Upgrading Authoritarianism.
28 Bank et al., “Long-term Monarchical Survival”.
29 Barari, “The Persistence of Autocracy”.
30 Cavatorta, “Neither Participation nor Revolution”.
31 The Justice and Charity is opposed to the monarchy on doctrinal grounds and its now deceased leader, Abdessalam Yassin, was a prominent dissident for five decades. The group is a powerful political and social player that attempts to bring about political change through social activism. See Cavatorta, “Neither Participation nor Revolution”.
32 El-Katiri, “The Institutionalisation of Religious Affairs”.
33 Maghraoui, “Depoliticization in Morocco”.
34 Hoffmann and Konig, “Scratching the Democratic Façade”, 1.
35 Jamaï, “La monarchie, tabou absolu”.
36 France Libertés: Fondation Danielle Mitterrand, Le Royaume du Maroc.
37 Boukhars, Political Violence in North Africa, 24.
38 Bellin, “The Robustness of Authoritarianism”.
39 See report and footage of police brutality during a May 2011 protest in Casablanca: http://observers.france24.com/fr/20110530-manifestants-casablanca-brutalite-policiers-repression-maroc.
40 Amnesty International, Torture au Maroc.
41 Seeberg, “Union for the Mediterranean”.
42 Szmolka, “Inter – and Intra-party Relations”.
43 Rachidi, “Où va la gauche marocaine?”.
44 AFP, “Maroc : le retrait des Islamistes”.
45 Bergh and Rossi-Doria, “Plus ça change?”.
46 Suarez Collado, “Territorial Stress in Morocco”.
47 Fernandez-Molina, “Protests under Occupation”.
48 Yusuf, “A Structural Change Analysis”.
49 Buehler, “Labour Demands, Regime Concessions”, 88.
50 Catusse, “Maroc: un état social fragile”.
51 Interview with Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelillah Benkirane, TV5, 24 February 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR03YLRK7qc.
52 With 21.12% of the votes, PAM took 6,655 seats, the most in Morocco’s rural areas.
53 The most famous case involved journalist Ali Imrabet, sentenced to four years in prison in 2003 and later pardoned. Other prominent cases include journalists Ali Anouzla and Rachid Nini (imprisoned in 2011 for one year), human rights and independence activist Ali Salem Tamek (imprisoned five times), and political activist and historian Maati Monjib.
54 Sakhtivel, Al Adl Wal-Ihsan.