Case Study: Morocco
Sophia Scarcella
Florida Atlantic University
Morocco
Since gaining independence in 1956 from both France and Spain, Morocco has experienced many reforms and changes driving the country towards democracy. Under the current leader, King Mohammed VI, the country is progressively moving from autocracy to more liberal forms of government. The king initiated constitutional reforms, following the civil protests that began in February 2011. Consequently, the government has embarked on initiatives to restore people’s trust in government and political institutions (El-Katiri, 2013). Despite the challenges the nation has faced in the past, Morocco is enlarging its political space for the social and economic prosperity of its citizens.
In comparison to other modern nations in Africa, Morocco is a unique state. The foundation of the political system in modern day Morocco is not a result of European colonization, but is a combination of pre-colonial and colonial structures (Joffe, 1988). This can be exemplified in the role of the monarchy in pre-colonial, colonial, and post colonial Morocco. A shift in the way of governing colonies from a policy of assimilation to association by the French resulted in the preservation of the Moroccan monarchy, a tradition that dates back to the ninth century (Joffe, 1988). The monarchy is crucial to political life in many ways.
The current makeup of the political regime and government in Morocco can be described as an Islamic, democratic and social constitutional monarchy (Kuchejda, n.d.). The monarchy claims legitimacy through “its genealogical descent from the Prophet Muhammad…” (Joffe, 1988). The constitution, which was written in 1962 and has since been adjusted four times between the years 1970-1996, maintains that the king is both the head of state and spiritual leader. According to Joffe (1988), in the constitution “there is a provision for a limited but pluralistic democratic system in which the monarchy plays a leading role as guardian and arbiter of Morocco’s democratic future.” This role allows the king to appoint the prime minister, appoint and remove members of the cabinet, dissolve parliament, and arrange new elections and rule by decree (Kuchejda, n.d).
The unique features of the monarchy such as the continuity, longevity, and religious legitimacy of the monarchy has resulted in many problems as citizens confront the idea of replacing the traditional monarchy with political structures of other nations (Joffe, 1988). There have been many instances in which the monarchy was not supported by the general public, for example, when the last two sultans failed to prevent the European occupation. Although in 1944, the Istiqlal, a political group that lead the fight for independence, formed a link with the sultanate and gained back support.
Unfortunately this was short lived and citizens began to revolt. shortly after King Hassan II took the throne. The major riots were in Casablanca, Rabat, and Fes in 1965. Another major event was the Skhirat coup in 1971, which was an uprising to protest economic inequality and corruption. In addition to politically motivated protests, there were many concerns regarding human rights in Morocco, specifically during the reign of King Hassan II who ruled from 1961 until his death in 1999 (Sweet, 2001). During these years, many Moroccan citizens lived in fear, as detentions, mysterious disappearances, and torture were common (Radi, 2017). During the 1980s and early 1990s, deteriorating economic conditions resulted in riots in large cities. In response, Hassan made amendments in 1992 and 1996 that encouraged more political participation and broader political space for civil society (Kaye, 2008).
The 1996 reform of the constitution split parliament into two chambers: the Assembly of Representatives and the Assembly of Councillors. There are currently 325 members of the Assembly of Representatives and are elected directly every five years. Local and regional councils are responsible for electing members of the Councillors, which is currently made up of 270 members, every three years. Parliament has the power to propose laws, fix budgets, and can overthrow the government by impeachment (Kuchejda, n.d.).
After King Hassan II’s death in 1999, his son, Mohammad VI, succeeded to the throne. Many citizens had high expectations of him and he gained popularity as his reign was unlike his father’s. He was called “the king of the poor” and sought to end problems such as sex trafficking in women and children (Sweet, 2001). The human rights concerns drew international attention and the Truth Commission concluded 592 people were killed during Hassan II’s reign.
In addition to human rights issues, Morocco’s economy has grown significantly over the last thirty years through structural reforms. However, the financial sector is yet to produce the expected effects on capital accumulation and economic growth. The financial performance of Morocco is closely related to the political structure where the King still holds a large percentage of the economy under his close confidants. Compared to high income countries of East Asia and the Pacific, Morocco has not obtained the linkage between financial development and economic growth (Bahaddi & Karim, 2017). Whereas the country has obtained long-term benefits from public investment expenditures, government consumption has had adverse effects on the economy. Although Morocco has a strong agricultural economy, the impact of this sector is negligible and it has not resulted in growth consistent with the thriving agricultural production.
Evidently, the expanding political space in Morocco is progressively moving the country from a monarchy to a democracy. Morocco is therefore expected to achieve more economic and social gains through the democratization of its political institution. Although over the past few decades Morocco has seen improvement in human rights laws, there is still a long way to go for liberalization.
Bibliography
Bahaddi, T., & Karim, M. (2017). Impact of Public Expenditure on the Growth in Morocco: Role of Governance. International Journal of Economics and Finance,9(4), 12. doi:10.5539/ijef.v9n4p12
El-Katiri, M. (2013). The institutionalisation of religious affairs: Religious reform in Morocco. The Journal of North African Studies,18(1), 53-69. doi:10.1080/13629387.2012.712886
Joffe, G. (1988). Morocco: Monarchy, legitimacy and succession. Third World Quarterly,10(1), 201-228. doi:10.1080/01436598808420052
Kuchejda, J. (n.d.). Morocco – Analysis of the Moroccan political system. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/1788294/Morocco_-_Analysis_of_the_Moroccan_political_system
Miller, S. G. (2013). A History of Modern Morocco. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Radi, Abdelaziz. “Protest Movements and Social Media: Morocco’s February 20 Movement.” Africa Development / Afrique Et Développement, vol. 42, no. 2, 2017, pp. 31–55. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/90018190.
Sweet, C. (2001). Democratization without Democracy: Political Openings and Closures in Modern Morocco. Middle East Report,(218), 22. doi:10.2307/1559306