Morocco 2014: the Return of Authoritarianism
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Beyond Islamists & Autocrats
PROSPECTS FOR POLITICAL REFORM POST ARAB SpRING Beyond Islamists & Autocrats MOROCCO: peting through more or less free and fair elections for par- liamentary and governmental positions since 1956, when Prospects for Civil Society the country established independence from French rule, n Vish Sakthivel arguably the greatest prospects for democratic reform can be found not in traditional political institutions but in the This paper, the second in a series exploring reformist country’s civil society. As this paper demonstrates, civil so- actors among non-Islamists throughout the region, ex- ciety entities such as trade unions and organizations work- amines prospects for political reform in Morocco. The ing on democratic development, women’s empowerment, paper defines democratic/reformist actors as individu- human rights, and the rights of the Berber (Amazigh) mi- als or groups supporting the familiar procedural mech- nority carry promise for Morocco’s democratic prospects, anisms of power sharing, such as regular elections and even as the political system remains dominated by the open contestation for political office, and also possi- monarchy. Indeed, since the constitutional reforms of bly working to strengthen the attendant freedoms of 2011, many Moroccan political groups, including those expression, association, and press; legal protections counterdemocratic strains with strong links to the regime, for minorities; and social conditions, such as literacy, portray themselves as reform-oriented, democratic actors widely acknowledged to be necessary components of a and may, in certain ways, serve as facilitators for reform democracy. Religious or Muslim democrats—or those groups. But their primary role is to facilitate continued le- seeing a role for religion in public life—are included in gitimacy for the regime, often taking up the ancillary role this definition. -
The Islamist Movement in Morocco. Main Actors and Regime Responses
DIIS REPORT 2010:05 DIIS REPORT THE ISLAMIST MOVEMENT IN MOROCCO MAIN ACTORS AND REGIME RESPONSES Julie E. Pruzan-Jørgensen DIIS REPORT 2010:05 DIIS REPORT DIIS . DANISH INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES 1 DIIS REPORT 2010:05 © Copenhagen 2010 Danish Institute for International Studies, DIIS Strandgade 56, DK-1401 Copenhagen, Denmark Ph: +45 32 69 87 87 Fax: +45 32 69 87 00 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.diis.dk Cover Design: Anine Kristensen Cover Photo: Polfoto.dk Layout: Allan Lind Jørgensen Printed in Denmark by Vesterkopi AS ISBN 978-87-7605-378-9 Price: DKK 50.00 (VAT included) DIIS publications can be downloaded free of charge from www.diis.dk Hardcopies can be ordered at www.diis.dk The report was commissioned by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but its findings and conclusions are entirely the responsibility of the author. Julie E. Pruzan-Jørgensen, Project Researcher, Religion, Conflict and International Politics, DIIS 2 DIIS REPORT 2010:05 Contents Abstract 4 Introduction 5 Religion and Politics in Morocco 6 The Islamist Movement in Morocco 8 Developments within MUR/PJD 11 Developments within Justice and Spirituality 15 Regime Responses: Reforms and Repression 19 Future Scenarios 24 Literature 26 3 DIIS REPORT 2010:05 Abstract Morocco’s formally accepted Islamist party, the Justice and Development Party (PJD), has further underlined its recognition of the authoritarian regime in response to a disappointing electoral showing and tough competition from the new Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM). In contrast, the forbidden, although tolerated, Justice and Spirituality Movement (Al Adl wal Ihsan) retains its principled oppositional role. -
Tome Ii: Brief Curriculum Vitae
Short CV Saad MRANI, MD, PhD Date of Birth: 07/06/1968 Nationality: Moroccan ADDRESS: Department of Virology- Mohammed V University Hospital, BP 6704 Madinat Al Irfane- Rabat. Morocco Mobile: +212661116123 E-mail: [email protected] POSITION TITLE Director of the Research Center in Genomics of Human Pathologies. Mohammed V University of Rabat. OTHER POSITIONS · 2018: Director of Clinical Biology Specialty Degree. Mohammed VI University of Health Sciences. Casablanca.Morocco. · 2009-2016: Head of Department of Virology - Mohammed V University Hospital, Rabat, Morocco. · 2009-Present: Head of Medical Virology Research Team. University Mohammed V, Rabat. · 2008-Present: Scientific consultant for Biosafety and Biosecurity, University Mohammed V Rabat (UM5R) · 2007-2009: Head of Research and Biosafety Laboratory (NSB3) at the Mohammed V Military University Hospital, Rabat. · 2007-Present: Professor of Virology- Mohamed V University- Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy - Rabat- Morocco · 2002- 2007: Associate Researcher position at INSERM- FRANCE (National Institute of Health and Medical Research) - 1996-2001: MD, Resident physician in medical biology at the university hospital Ibn Sina. Rabat -Morocco EDUCATION and DEGREES · 2012: University Degree in Biological and Medical Engineering-Valorisation of Biomedical Research and Innovation. - Faculty of Medicine Pierre and Marie Curie. · 2007: Full Professor of Medical Virology. University Mohamed V -Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Rabat · 2007: Ph.D., Molecular Biology, University Lyon1. France. · 2006: Certificate in management of Nuclear, Radiologic, Chimical and Biological Threats. Grenoble, France · 2005-2006: University Degree in Bio-Terrorism and agents class 3 et 4. Faculty of Medecine La Timone, CHU Marseille, France. · 2004-2005: University Degree in Epidemiology and Investigational Methods for Communicable Diseases. -
Morocco: Freedom in the World 2020
4/8/2020 Morocco | Freedom House FREEDOM IN THE WORLD 2020 Morocco 37 PARTLY FREE /100 Political Rights 13 /40 Civil Liberties 24 /60 LAST YEAR'S SCORE & STATUS 39 /100 Partly Free Global freedom statuses are calculated on a weighted scale. See the methodology. https://freedomhouse.org/country/morocco/freedom-world/2020 1/18 4/8/2020 Morocco | Freedom House Overview Morocco holds regular multiparty elections for Parliament, and reforms in 2011 shifted some authority over government from the monarchy to the elected legislature. Nevertheless, King Mohammed VI maintains dominance through a combination of substantial formal powers and informal lines of influence in the state and society. Many civil liberties are constrained in practice. Key Developments in 2019 In July, a court in Salé issued death sentences for three men convicted of the December 2018 murders of two Scandinavian women hikers in the Atlas Mountains. Authorities characterized the killings as an attack by the Islamic State militant group. Prominent journalist Hajar Raissouni was arrested in August with her fiancé and charged with extramarital sex and obtaining an illegal abortion. Each was sentenced in September to one year in prison, with the court rejecting evidence that Raissouni was not pregnant and was being treated for a blood clot. She, her fiancé, and her doctors all received royal pardons in October. Teachers’ unions organized a series of protests during the year to demand better working conditions, at times drawing harsh police responses. Political Rights A. Electoral Process A1 0-4 pts Was the current head of government or other chief national authority elected through free and fair elections? 1 / 4 https://freedomhouse.org/country/morocco/freedom-world/2020 2/18 4/8/2020 Morocco | Freedom House Constitutional reforms in 2011 required the king to appoint the prime minister from the party that wins the most seats in parliamentary elections, but the reforms preserved nearly all of the king’s existing powers. -
Trading Mechanisms, Return's Volatility and Efficiency in the Casablanca
Munich Personal RePEc Archive Trading mechanisms, return’s volatility and efficiency in the Casablanca Stock Exchange FERROUHI, El Mehdi and EZZAHID, Elhadj Mohammed V University, Rabat, Morocco July 2013 Online at https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/77322/ MPRA Paper No. 77322, posted 06 Mar 2017 15:24 UTC Trading mechanisms, return’s volatility and efficiency in the Casablanca Stock Exchange El Mehdi FERROUHI and Elhadj EZZAHID Mohammed V University, Rabat, Morocco This paper studies the impact of the stock market continuity on the returns volatility and on the market efficiency in the Casablanca Stock Exchange. For the most active stocks, the trading mechanism used is the continuous market which is preceded by a call market pre-opening session. Results obtained concerning return volatility and efficiency under the two trading mechanisms show that the continuous market returns are more volatile than the call market returns and 50 percent of stocks studied show independence between variations. Keywords: Trading mechanism, microstructure, call market, continuous market, efficiency, volatility 1. Introduction The microstructure of financial markets is the discipline that studies the modalities of the operational functioning of financial markets and the mechanisms that lead to the determination of prices at which stocks are exchanged. Thus, it discusses the impact of trading mechanisms on the pattern of financial markets. In this paper we will focus in the impacts of trading mechanisms, which differ from a market to other, on return’s volatility and market efficiency. Some stock markets apply the “call market” in which trading and orders executions occur at regular time intervals. All transactions are conducted at a single price determined to balance the sales and purchases orders. -
Moroccan Exceptionalism Examined: Constitutional Insights Pre- and Post-2011
Istituto Affari Internazionali IAI WORKING PAPERS 13 | 34 – December 2013 ISSN 2280-4331 Moroccan Exceptionalism Examined: Constitutional Insights pre- and post-2011 Mohammed Hashas Abstract Compared to Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, Morocco’s political development looks like an oasis of tranquillity. “Moroccan exceptionalism” is often drawn on as a positive status, the result of at least one decade of reforms implemented by the monarchy, long before the Arab Spring events. An alternative view is offered by some civil society movements inside the country and by the 20 February Movement, born amidst the waves of the Arab Spring, which are critical of this exceptionalism and call for more reforms. By making reference to the constitutional reforms undertaken by the country since 1908 and by assessing the most recent reform efforts, this paper argues that “Moroccan exceptionalism” is yet to go through the test of the implementation of what is often referred to as a “promising constitution” that should in its intentions pave the way for a genuine constitutional monarchy in Morocco. “Moroccan exceptionalism,” as the paper concludes, is not the description of a “final” political situation; rather, it is merely “a phase” in the political life of a country undergoing transition. It is then the outcome of this “phase” that will determine whether “exceptionalism” takes on a positive or a negative meaning and whether the two contrasting narratives about “exceptionalism” can ultimately be reconciled. Keywords : Morocco / Domestic policy / Reforms / Arab Spring © 2013 IAI ISBN 978-88-98650-05-7 IAI Working Papers 1334 Moroccan Exceptionalism Examined : Constitutional Insights pre- and post-2011 Moroccan Exceptionalism Examined: Constitutional Insights pre- and post-2011 by Mohammed Hashas ∗ Introduction The label “Moroccan exceptionalism” is often used both by government officials in the country and many political analysts and commentators. -
Gender Matters: Women As Actors of Change and Sustainable Development in Morocco
ISSUE BRIEF 06.19.20 Gender Matters: Women as Actors of Change and Sustainable Development in Morocco Yamina El Kirat El Allame, Ph.D., Professor, Faculty of Letters & Human Sciences, Mohammed V University In comparison to other countries in Against Women helped encourage the the Middle East and North Africa, the Moroccan feminist movement, leading to Moroccan government has implemented a the launch of feminist journals including considerable number of reforms to improve Lamalif and Thamanya Mars in 1983. In the women’s rights, including a gender quota 1990s, women mobilized around the issue of for parliamentary elections, a revision of reforming the Mudawana. In 1992, a petition the Family Code (the Mudawana), a reform was signed by one million Moroccans, and of the constitution, a law allowing women in 1999, large demonstrations were held in to pass nationality to their children, an Rabat and Casablanca. The reforms to the amendment of the rape law, and a law Mudawana were officially adopted in 2004. criminalizing gender-based violence. The 20 February Movement, associated Despite these reforms, women's rights and with the regional uprisings known as the gender equality have not improved; most “Arab Spring,”1 began with the twenty- of the changes exist on paper, and the legal year-old anonymous journalist student, measures have not been implemented well. Amina Boughalbi. Her message—“I am Moroccan and I will march on the 20th of February because I want freedom and HISTORY OF MOROCCAN WOMEN’S equality for all Moroccans”—mobilized INVOLVEMENT IN SUSTAINABLE several thousand, mainly young, Moroccan Moroccan women have DEVELOPMENT men and women. -
Parliamentary Agenda Priorities and Responsiveness Under Authoritarianism
Working Paper Parliamentary Agenda Priorities and Responsiveness Under Authoritarianism Marwa Shalaby, Ph.D. Fellow for the Middle East and Director, Women’s Rights in the Middle East, Center for the Middle East, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy Abdullah Aydogan, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for the Middle East, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy © 2016 by the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy of Rice University This material may be quoted or reproduced without prior permission, provided appropriate credit is given to the author and the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy. Wherever feasible, papers are reviewed by outside experts before they are released. However, the research and views expressed in this paper are those of the individual researcher(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy. This paper is a work in progress and has not been submitted for editorial review. Abstract Former studies have focused on issue prioritization in parliaments and compared the priorities of both political elites and citizens to measure their level of responsiveness to the general public. To date, this topic was examined in more than twenty countries, which are exclusively democratic systems. This paper aims to contribute to the comparative agendas’ politics literature by testing issue-congruency under competitive authoritarian regimes. Analyzing more than 10,000 legislative texts, mainly parliamentary draft bills and questions, and matching them with public opinion data on citizen priorities in Morocco, we found a substantial level of issue congruence between the priorities of the elites and citizens. -
PARTY STRENGTHENING and PARLIAMENTARY REFORM (04860/1) USAID Cooperative Agreement No
CEPPS/NDI Quarterly Report: April 1 – June 30, 2005 MOROCCO: PARTY STRENGTHENING AND PARLIAMENTARY REFORM (04860/1) USAID Cooperative Agreement No. DGC-A-00-01-00004-00 Project dates: March 1, 2004 to September 1, 2005 Total budget: $1,095,000.00 Expenses to date: $956,580.83 I. SUMMARY Over the last quarter Morocco has taken some significant steps on its path through democratic transition. A political party law has been put forward for ratification, revision of the electoral code is under discussion and a number of political parties held their national congresses with an eye to the pending party legislation. Elsewhere, the speech by the King on the need to develop the country’s human capital called attention to the slow socioeconomic development of the country while highlighting its relationship to the development of more robust democratic processes. Political parties are becoming increasingly aware of the need to join together to face the challenges of the upcoming 2007 elections. As a result, they are moving slowly to form several unified poles. The Popular Movement (MP) and National Popular Movement (MNP) have taken the lead by fully merging their parties, while the Union of Socialist Popular Forces (USFP) and Democratic Socialist Party (PSD) are on their way. Parties such as the Justice and Development Party (PJD) have more confidence in their base of support and are working diligently to maintain and expand popular backing in the lead up to the 2007 polls. Within this context, the specific objectives of NDI’s parliamentary reform and political party strengthening programs are the following: Parliament Program To bridge the gap between members of Parliament (MPs), civil society leaders and constituents; and To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of MPs and party caucuses. -
International Reports 1/2017
Source: © Rafael Marchante, Reuters. Marchante, © Rafael Source: Other Topics Government Formation by Consensus? Monarchy, Democracy and Political Islam in Morocco Helmut Reifeld 90 Since the constitutional reform and 2011 elections, Morocco’s political reform course has continued to stabilise. However, is there any democratic foundation for this stability? Do the political parties form a democratic force that could lead the population through a necessary transformation process? And how “moderate” are the Islamists who were in power during the last election period? On 7 October 2016, at the end of a normal For Benkirane, this crisis came to a head with legislative period, the seats were reallocated the King’s decision to request the new parlia- in Morocco’s House of Representatives. As the ment to elect a president, even without a new leader of the moderate Islamist Justice and government in office in order to be capable of Development Party (PJD), which again won a taking action. Thus, on 13 January 2017, (with majority of the seats, King Mohammed VI fol- the abstention of the PJD), Habib El Malki was lowed the constitutional guideline to invite the elected by the USFP as the new parliamentary former Prime Minister, Abdelilah Benkirane, to president.1 This may be viewed as a highly prag- form a new government. matic solution, however, many observers also treated it as a “coup d’état” that contested the Over a period of more than five months, will of the electorate.2 Benkirane unsuccessfully attempted to honour this invitation during tough coalition negoti- This crisis came to an end on 17 March with the ations. -
Triggering Nationalist Violence Triggering Nationalist Adria Lawrence Violence Competition and Conºict in Uprisings Against Colonial Rule
Triggering Nationalist Violence Triggering Nationalist Adria Lawrence Violence Competition and Conºict in Uprisings against Colonial Rule What causes nonstate actors to take up arms and wage war against the state? Despite a burgeoning literature on civil war, extrasystemic war, and terrorism, scholars continue to lack compelling explanations for the onset of civil violence. The existing litera- ture has examined variation in political violence along a number of different dimensions, including the incidence of rebellion and civil war,1 the distribu- tion of violence within civil wars,2 the behavior of violent actors toward civil- ians,3 popular support for violent actors,4 and the use of particular types of violence.5 Yet less is known about how and why violence erupts in the ªrst Adria Lawrence is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Yale University and a research fellow at the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies. From 2007 to 2008, she was a research fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University. The author would like to acknowledge Ana De La O, Thad Dunning, Jeff Goodwin, Jenna Jordan, Stathis Kalyvas, Harris Mylonas, David Patel, Roger Petersen, Mustapha Qadery, Keven Ruby, Jonah Schulhofer-Wohl, Susan Stokes, Lisa Wedeen, Elizabeth Wood, the anonymous reviewers, and participants at workshops at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technol- ogy, and Yale University for comments and helpful suggestions on earlier drafts. Special thanks are owed to Matthew Kocher for his advice and feedback. Many thanks to Younes Amehraye for research assistance in Morocco. 1. For examples, see Paul Collier and Anke Hoefºer, “Greed and Grievance in Civil War” (Oxford: Center for the Study of African Economics, March 2002); Nicholas Sambanis, “What Is a Civil War? Conceptual and Empirical Complexities of an Operational Deªnition,” Journal of Conºict Res- olution, Vol. -
Demobilization in Morocco: the Case of the February 20 Movement by © 2018 Sammy Zeyad Badran
Demobilization in Morocco: The Case of The February 20 Movement By © 2018 Sammy Zeyad Badran Submitted to the graduate degree program in Political Science and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Chairperson: Dr. Hannah E. Britton Co-Chairperson: Dr. Gail Buttorff Dr. Gary M. Reich Dr. Nazli Avdan Dr. Alesha E. Doan Date Defended: 31 May 2018 ii The dissertation committee for Sammy Zeyad Badran certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Demobilization in Morocco: The Case of The February 20 Movement Chairperson: Dr. Hannah E. Britton Co-Chairperson: Dr. Gail Buttorff Date Approved: 31 May 2018 iii Abstract This dissertation aims to understand why protests lessen when they do by investigating how and why social movements demobilize. I do this by questioning the causal link between consistent state polices (concessions or repression) and social movement demobilization. My interviews with the February 20 Movement, the main organizer of mass protests in Morocco during the Arab Spring, reveals how ideological differences between leftist and Islamist participants led to the group’s eventual halt of protests. During my fieldwork, I conducted 46 semi-structured elite interviews with civil society activists, political party leaders, MPs, and independent activists throughout Morocco. My interviews demonstrate that the February 20 Movement was initially united, but that this incrementally changed following the King’s mixed-policy of concessions and repression. The King’s concessionary policies convinced society that demands were being met and therefore led to the perception that the February 20 Movement was no longer needed, while repression highlighted internal divides.