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Maâti Monjib is a Moroccan historian, political analyst, and human rights activist. Monjib, president and co-founder of Freedom Now, has faced an array of political charges since 2015 and been subject to digital surveillance by the state. Today, he faces new finance-related accusations, which he denies.
Morocco’s recently enacted Right to Information Law is a potentially powerful tool in the hands of its citizens, but their ability to use it is still largely dependent on the government’s commitment to transparency and political will to enforce it.
The shifting relationships between armies and civil society are revealing new balances within defense structures.
Initial measures from the Moroccan government may have curbed the spread of a viral outbreak for now, but unsustainable policies risk aggravating social precarity and establishing new authoritarian norms.
The EU’s relationship with the Moroccan government reinforces the political status quo at a time when a growing number of Moroccans appear to want change.
The dramatic death of the former president of Egypt, Mohammed Morsi, on June 17th, reignited debate about the future of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and political Islam across the region.
Morocco’s security-oriented approach to countering violent extremism leaves little room for rehabilitation efforts.
By fueling a media war between Islamists and leftists, the Moroccan regime can isolate individual critics and prevent these forces from forming an anti-palace coalition.
Efforts to reduce the mandate and scope of the UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara could shift parties away from a political solution and risk greater instability.
Rather than making North Africa safer, securitizing borders has raised the risk of instability along the region’s frontiers, where communities depend on smuggling.
Although Maghreb states have tended to pursue border security unilaterally, increased transnational coordination at the local level offers a more sustainable approach.
Although Morocco is aiming to diversify its trade relations into West Africa, political and social opposition within ECOWAS raises questions about its real intentions.
While countries in the Maghreb and the Gulf are increasing their security cooperation, they lack a long-term strategic understanding.
Morocco’s transfer of the public prosecutor out of the Ministry of Justice signals a broader shift toward the judiciary’s independence from the executive.
In confronting the Sahel’s transnational security challenges, international actors would benefit from giving Maghreb states a role in stabilization and development.
Morocco’s delays in implementing a more flexible currency system highlight officials’ fear of generating or amplifying protests.
The Party of Authenticity and Modernity is trying to regain political relevance by blaming the Party of Justice and Development for the Hoceima crisis in Morocco.
The Moroccan authorities are unsuccessfully using their influence over religious discourse and the media to try to turn the public against protesters in the Rif.
The UN is poised to renew the search for a political settlement on Western Sahara, and a recent ruling by the European Union Court of Justice may provide the foundation for negotiations.
Women continue to face challenges in accessing the higher echelons of political power, but also in playing a more substantive role in the policymaking process.