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AVOIDING THE ARAB SPRING? THE POLITICS OF LEGITIMACY IN KING MOHAMMED VI’S MOROCCO by MARGARET J. ABNEY A THESIS Presented to the Department of Political Science and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts June 2013 THESIS APPROVAL PAGE Student: Margaret J. Abney Title: Avoiding the Arab Spring? The Politics of Legitimacy in King Mohammed VI’s Morocco This thesis has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree in the Department of Political Science by: Craig Parsons Chairperson Karrie Koesel Member Tuong Vu Member and Kimberly Andrews Espy Vice President for Research and Innovation; Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded June 2013 ii © 2013 Margaret J. Abney iii THESIS ABSTRACT Margaret J. Abney Master of Arts Department of Political Science June 2013 Title: Avoiding the Arab Spring? The Politics of Legitimacy in King Mohammed VI’s Morocco During the 2011 Arab Spring protests, the Presidents of Egypt and Tunisia lost their seats as a result of popular protests. While protests occurred in Morocco during the same time, King Mohammed VI maintained his throne. I argue that the Moroccan king was able to maintain his power because of factors that he has because he is a king. These benefits, including dual religious and political legitimacy, additional control over the military, and a political situation that make King Mohammed the center of the Moroccan political sphere, are not available to the region’s presidents. iv CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Margaret J. Abney GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa DEGREES AWARDED: Master of Arts, Political Science, 2013, University of Oregon Bachelor of Arts, Politics, 2009, Drake University PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Teaching Assistant, Department of Political Science, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 2010-2012 Foreign English Teacher, Handan Foreign Language School, Handan, Hebei Province, China, 2009-2010 v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express appreciation to the members of my committee: my chair, Dr. Parsons, as well as Dr. Koesel and Dr. Vu. In addition, special thanks are due to my family, who have supported me in this process. vi إل ى ا سات ذت ي ال ل غة ال عرب ية، ب نات ال ثورة ال م صري ة: ”ال م ك توب ع لى ال ج ب ين ﻻزم ت شوف ه ال ع ين.“ To my Arabic professors, daughters of the Egyptian revolution: “One’s destiny is to be seen by the eye." vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 II. THE ARAB SPRING .............................................................................................. 4 1. The Arab Spring: A Brief Summary .................................................................. 4 2. Literature Review............................................................................................... 9 a. Structural Conditions ................................................................................... 10 b. Regime Features........................................................................................... 15 c. Regime Strategies and Actions .................................................................... 24 III. STRUCTURAL CONDITIONS ............................................................................ 30 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 30 2. The “Youth Bulge” ............................................................................................ 31 3. Economics and Development ............................................................................ 34 4. Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 41 IV. REGIME STRATEGIES ....................................................................................... 43 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 43 2. Tactical Preemption: Weakening and Dividing the Opposition ........................ 44 3. Institutional Preemption: The Constitutional Amendment Process ................... 46 4. Cultural Preemption: The King as a Source of Stability vs. February 20 Movement as a Source of Chaos ........................................................................ 50 5. Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 52 viii Chapter Page V. REGIME FEATURES ............................................................................................ 54 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 54 2. Democratic Institutions and Practices in an Authoritarian Regime ................... 55 3. Religious and Monarchical Legitimacy ............................................................. 62 3. Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 67 VI. CONCLUSION….................................................................................................. 69 REFERENCES CITED ................................................................................................ 76 ix LIST OF TABLES Table Page 2.1. Structural Conditions in Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia ............................................. 11 3.1. Youth Statistics in Morocco, Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia...................................... 31 3.2. Economic and Development Indicators in Morocco, Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia ............................................................................................................. 35 5.1. Democracy and Press Freedom Indicators in Morocco, Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia ............................................................................................................. 56 x CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Ahead of the 2010 beginnings of the Arab Spring protests, Morocco faced many of the same political and economic conditions as other countries in the Middle East and North Africa. However, the presence of similar conditions did not lead Morocco to have similar results – namely, a popular uprising that led to the stepping down of the country’s ruler – that was observed in countries such as Egypt and Tunisia. The puzzle of the Moroccan king’s staying power leads to three questions about this outcome as of late- 2011, at which point it had become clear that the king survived the Arab Spring unscathed. 1) What structural conditions were present in Morocco that made it more or less likely that the king would maintain power? 2) What, if any, distinctive strategies did King Mohammed VI use to stay in power? 3) What are the most important features of the Moroccan regime that help to maintain monarchical control? The questions posed in this study are top-down, in that they focus on the ways in which the king of Morocco had an impact on the political situation in his country during the Arab Spring protests. There are reasons to think that, at least for an initial focus, a top-down approach seems justified in this case. In comparison to other regional countries in which regime change did occur because of the protests, there are not obvious reasons to think that Moroccan society was more splintered or less able to mobilize than those societies that overthrew their leaders during the Arab Spring that these variables were the main reasons the protests failed to induce regime change. While research about the strategies and shortcomings of the February 20th Movement – the group of Moroccan protestors active during the spring of 2011 – is necessary for a fuller understanding of the 1 events of Morocco’s Arab Spring, this study will focus primarily on the role of the king and the conditions present in the monarchy to answer the above questions. This approach is supported by literatures on the relative weakness of and divisions within both political parties1 and Islamist opposition groups (some of whom do not necessarily advocate for democratic political change),2 as well as those literatures that focus on the centrality of the king within the Moroccan political sphere.3 A central theme of these literatures is that the political system and civil society are set up in such ways that make large-scale political change in Morocco very dependent upon the king’s participation; that is to say, if the king objects to a political change, his position and resources make it likely that he will be able to manipulate events so that change does not occur. While there is value in studying the reasons for the splintered nature of Moroccan politics and the tactical choices made by the Moroccan protestors, and to have a complete understanding of the events that occurred, both issues must be taken into account, the scope of this project means that choices must be made about which group to study. Focusing on the strength of the king vis-à-vis society and the policies he made to head off the effects of the protests is one of several viable avenues for understanding the events of the Arab Spring in Morocco. I chose to focus this study on the king because of his documented centrality in the political system – in terms of the protests, this means that the king had an impact