Morocco’s Africa Policy

Yousra Abourabi, Ph.D. (2016), is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the International University of Rabat. She has published a monograph as well as many papers on Morocco and African governance, including Maroc (De Boeck, 2019) and the current book in its French version (Brill, 2020). She is both a member of the ECOSOCC (African Union) and of the Global Campus for Human Rights.

Foreword

Abbreviations



Introduction

 1 ‘Morocco takes the South’: Apollonian or Dionysian impulse?

 2 The Arab and African Worlds in the Study of International Relations

 3 A Constructivist Approach to Identity

 4 The Challenge of Multi-disciplinarity in the Study of Moroccan Foreign Policy

 5 Book Structure and Objectives



1 The Genesis of an Africa Policy in Morocco: The Kingdom in Search of International Recognition

 1 Introduction

 2 Measuring Morocco’s Emergence in the Light of the New World Order: Africa’s Emergence in a ‘Multiplex’ World

 3 From the Ambition of Emergence to the Ambition of Power: The Development of the Kingdom’s International Relations

 4 The Discursive Construction of Morocco’s International Role Identity around the Concept of the ‘Golden Mean’

 5 Africa as the ‘New Frontier’



2 The Historical Determinants of Morocco’s Diplomatic Interest in Africa

 1 Introduction

 2 History as an Objective Determinant of the Geopolitical Order: Allal al-Fassi’s ‘Greater Morocco’ Project

 3 First Steps towards Building African Multilateralism

 4 From the Sand War to the Betrayal of the OAU: The Moroccan Western Sahara, an African Problem

 5 The Search for Leadership in a Regional Union with Libya: A Failed Alternative

 6 The Cold War Kingdom versus French Power in Africa

 7 ‘Renewed Partnership’ and a New Policy in Africa at the End of the Cold War

 8 Ceasefire and Peace Plan in the Aftermath of the Cold War: The Birth of Voice Diplomacy



3 The Making of the Africa Policy: Royal Pre-eminence and Diplomatic Mobilisation

 1 Introduction

 2 The King’s Style in Foreign Policy: A Two-Tiered Role

 3 Foreign Affairs: A ‘Ministry of Sovereignty’

 4 Modernisation and Professionalisation of the Diplomatic Apparatus at the Service of an African strategy

 5 The Specialisation of Diplomacy in the Service of a Golden-Mean Role Identity: Promoting Interculturalism and Trilateralism



4 A Framework for Representing Regional Integration

 1 Introduction

 2 The Defence of Territorial Integrity: A Political Framework for Defining the Entourage

 3 Algeria and the Polisario Front: Public Historical hostis

 4 South Africa and Nigeria: Geopolitical Adversaries or Future Continental Allies?

 5 Shared Perceptions of an Algiers–Abuja–Pretoria anti-Moroccan Axis

 6 The Representation of a ‘Natural Extension’ Based On the ‘Historical Constants’ of the Kingdom

 7 The French Character of the Kingdom’s Africa Policy: The Erroneous Hypothesis of a ‘pré carré gigogne’

 8 The Moroccan Character of the Kingdom’s Africa Policy: ‘Mohammed VI the African’, a Manifestation of the Royal Style in Africa



5 A Legitimising Framework for Regional Integration

 1 Introduction

 2 The Kingdom Is African: The Inscription of Africanness in the Diplomatic Framework

 3 The Kingdom’s Solidarity: Integrating the Normative Framework of South–South Cooperation and Global Security

 4 The Kingdom Is Moderate: The Valorisation of a Political-Religious Legacy through the Definition of a Golden-Mean Islam



6 Africa as a Field of Expression for an Indirect Strategy

 1 Introduction

 2 Fifteen Years of Offensive Bilateralism in the Service of a Sectorisation of Cooperation

 3 The Acquisition of Material Resources through Trilateral Cooperation

 4 Circumventing the Absence from the AU through Parallel Multilateral Diplomacy

 5 Morocco’s Return to the AU: The End of the Indirect Strategy?



7 Constructing Diplomatic Levers of Action to Promote a Role Identity

 1 The Subordination of the Economic Tool to Political Imperatives

 2 Sectoral Investment Policies under the Banner of South–South Cooperation

 3 Promoting State Identity through Nation Branding and Intangible Capital

 4 Accelerating Trade to Achieve Regional Integration: The Race to Maritime Transport

 5 Influence Diplomacy: The Role of Cultural and Religious Levers

 6 The Institutionalisation of Exchanges with trans-Saharan Sufi Confraternity Networks

 7 The Spreading of a Golden-Mean Islam in Africa through Religious Training



8 The Consequences of Morocco’s Africa Policy: Between Relative Gains and Geopolitical Transformations

 1 Introduction

 2 The Effects of Cultural and Religious Diplomacy in the Development of Migration to Morocco

 3 Towards a Mix of Foreign and Domestic Policies: The Example of Climate and Environmental Policy

 4 Enshrining the End of a MENA/sub-Saharan Africa Divide: A Socially Constructed Regionalist Project



Conclusion—Morocco: A Median Power



Appendix 1: State Visits of Mohammed VI Abroad, 2000–2016

Appendix 2: The King’s Speeches, 1999–2015: Statistics

Appendix 3: FDI to Morocco (1) and (2)

Appendix 4: Map of ‘Greater Morocco’

Appendix 5: Countries that Have Withdrawn Their Recognition of the RASD

Appendix 6: Map of Diplomatic Postures Regarding the Status of Moroccan Western Sahara

Appendix 7: Export of French War Material to Morocco (2008–2014)

Appendix 8: Moroccan FDI in Africa (1)

Appendix 9: Legitimisation Framework for the Africa Policy: Example of a Document on South–South Cooperation

Appendix 10: The Road Linking Morocco to West Africa

Appendix 11: Moroccan FDI in Africa (2)

Appendix 13: AU Motion of 28 States for the Suspension of the RASD

Appendix 13: Trade with Africa

Appendix 14: Transport Networks in Africa

Appendix 15: Shipping Lines, Morocco–Africa

Bibliography

Index