Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Abderrahim Chalfaouat
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It is time for reconciliation between Morocco and Algeria
Moroccans are grappling reluctantly with their country’s shocking level of normalisation with Israel. They have organised sit-ins, and a petition to thwart the deal, while weighing the steep toll of the conflict of attrition with Algeria over the Sahara. However, neglect of the burning questions of the new reality...
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The strategic downfall of Morocco’s normalisation
US President Donald Trump startled Moroccans when he revealed brokering a normalisation deal with Rabat, as public attention was focused entirely on developments in the Sahara. However, the royal office statement made it clear that Morocco is engaging in a new phase in its regional positions. The deal, as revealed...
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Morocco witnesses new blows to press freedom under Covid-19 securitisation
Morocco seems to have been successful in preventing a major outbreak three months after announcing the first two Covid-19 infections. The success of the lockdown has been described as without match in Africa. Although the swift measures taken were commonly perceived as effective, their use to basically shrink the...
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Despite drastic measures, Covid-19 exposes educational inequalities in Morocco
Globally, online schooling is getting its moment due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Morocco, though, struggles to keep up. With an eye on the future, emergency remote education has quickly replaced normal classroom-based learning. Meanwhile, as crises usually do, the situation ruthlessly exposes enduring fragilities, not least the digital divide...
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Morocco-Spain cooperation is unavoidable, despite territorial overlapping
When the Moroccan parliament amended two maritime border laws earlier this month, it explicitly praised the government’s proactive extension of the limits of the country’s territorial sovereignty. In terms of geostrategy, the government in Rabat reconsidered the maritime borders to include the Atlantic coast off the Western Sahara. However,...
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With Morocco’s exclusion from the Berlin Conference, it should revert to assertive diplomacy
For sound reasons, especially proximity and familiarity with the confused situation in North Africa, Morocco has been involved in developments in Libya since 2011. Rabat has favoured giving support to a Libyan government that will establish stability, build state institutions and initiate political transition, and in return give up...
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The concentration of economic power threatens Morocco’s stability
Despite its important debates and high calibre guests, the World Policy Conference (WPC) rarely attracts public attention in Morocco. However, it did so when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs suddenly condemned Salaheddine Mezouar, head of the General Confederation of Enterprises in Morocco (CGEM), for meddling with the country’s standpoint...
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Rampant corruption annuls reforms in Morocco
While Moroccans feel the repercussions of corruption on their quality of life, official and non-official data continually reveals its crippling impact on development in the kingdom. Publications on corruption strongly evidence not only ubiquitous malpractices but also the inadequate measures of transparency, accountability and care for common wellbeing. Most importantly,...
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Crackdown on freedom of speech claims victims in Morocco
On August 31, Akhbar Alyaoum journalist Hajar Raissouni was arrested. Suspicion spread immediately on social media, primarily for the reasons behind the imprisonment. Raissouni, 28, was arrested near a gynecology clinic in Rabat, accused of abortion. However, developments point towards the problematic issues surrounding freedom of speech, mass surveillance...
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Kushner’s desperate visit to Morocco
US Envoy and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner’s visit to Morocco is indicative of many things, not least that he is busy shoring up regional consensus for the Bahrain conference about Palestine, before unveiling the economic portion of the “deal of the century”. Depending on media revelations — secrecy is...
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Can the Maghreb Union resurrect without Morocco-Algeria rapprochement?
Ironically, Maghreb governments grieve the missed opportunities of their decadent union, but refrain from taking genuine steps to bridge divides. Moroccan officials, for instance, frequently extol the benefits of the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU). King Mohamed VI’s message to the EU-AU summit in Abidjan last November criticised the Maghreb...
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Morocco’s ex-PM resists marginalisation and promises a hard-fought election in 2021
While the Moroccan government displays outward harmony, an exchange of media statements has stirred up the seemingly calm atmosphere among its members. Unlike the previous government run by the Justice and Development Party (PJD), little media criticism tracks the current administration’s pitfalls, despite problematic policies. However, added to non-stop...
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Poverty provokes public anger in Morocco
Official corruption in Morocco hampers the fight to reduce poverty. This is especially true in more remote areas, where local officials pay less notice to national programmes to tackle the issue. What’s more, no matter what promises are made at election time, they fail to materialise due to deep...
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Restoring the dignity of the teacher in Morocco requires a multifaceted approach
The general public in Morocco are familiar with the decline of educational standards, yet blaming teachers alone for the failure is common. Education personnel generally know that violence, drug-taking and cheating in examinations epitomise the deeper tension of reciprocal mistrust between schools and society. Such tension affects social cohesion...
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Why are teachers’ rights marginalised in Morocco?
The Moroccan Ministry of Education has been working hectically to rectify some of the setbacks from which the sector suffers, especially before the recent sacking of ministers. New teachers have been recruited and ministerial committees have organised surprising field visits. In addition, anti-absenteeism measures have been applied strictly, displaying...
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Israel’s normalisation efforts soar against the public’s wishes
With the Arab Spring backlash, regional powers which support the Palestinians, especially the resistance groups, are busy solving their domestic concerns. While Turkey is still coming to grips with the aftermath of last year’s failed coup, Qatar is wounded by its isolation by other Gulf countries. Aside from this,...
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Despite overseas achievements, Morocco is unable to hide human right abuses at home
The democratic reversal in Morocco confronts the state with a true dilemma. While the kingdom is requested to abide by global human rights benchmarks, local developments thwart a genuine respect for freedom of speech, adherence to the 2011 Constitution or benefitting from the glow of foreign relations. In their...
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Is the educational system behind Morocco’s decadent social values?
As a new academic year starts, several social woes question the role that schools play in mitigating Morocco’s “decaying” value system. Despite non-stop official discourse that ranks education as the kingdom’s second top priority – after the Sahara issue — the educational system is frequently blamed for both a...
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The weakening of Morocco’s state institutions worsens the political logjam
As the Moroccan state itches for an exit from the Rif stalemate, the breaking of genuine compromises seems uncomfortable. True, street protests have abated in Al-Huceima due to a police crackdown and mass surveillance, while activists have faced defamation, imprisonment, transfer to Casablanca and selective royal pardons. However, since...
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In Morocco, stopping the Rif mobilisation requires democratisation
Mistakes and stubbornness still characterise Morocco’s state reactions to the Rif Hirak (“mobilisation”) subsequent to Mouhcine Fikri’s sordid death. Protests, meanwhile, have been relentless and mostly peaceful. Any “violence” by activists has been defensive, while the state seems to be engaged in an unequal tug-of-war with them. With the...
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The Riyadh summit is forgotten amidst the Qatar crisis
Though the Saudi-led embargo on Qatar started immediately after the Arab Islamic American summit in Riyadh in May, little is remembered about the promises President Donald Trump made in exchange for a price. Instead, events prove the summit had little to do with strengthening relations, confronting extremism or fostering...
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In Morocco, youths can also be victims of partisan struggle
The bewildering unpredictability leading up to the October elections last year impelled the state to put pressure on Morocco’s political parties which challenged its ready-made framework to axe reforms. Uncertainty and exchanged resistance prompted six Justice and Development Party (PJD) youth members to launch a Facebook page that they...
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Al-Hoceima protests mirror Morocco’s political fragility
Ever since Mohcine Fikri’s gruesome crushing-to-death in a rubbish truck, the mountainous Rif area in north-eastern Morocco has been simmering. In successive escalations, since 28 October, protestors have poured onto the streets in Al-Hoceima province, the Rif’s capital, seeking justice for the fish-vendor’s family while, on a wider level,...
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Why the new government in Morocco is doomed to failure
In reaction to the unexpected 7 October elections shock, the deep state apparently has engaged fervently in reshaping its long term tactics to regain monopoly over relations with political actors. True, the pattern of launching constitution-based reforms and then halting nascent experiences a few years later is not new...