By Fatima Hadji A
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SOCIAL MOBILIZATION IN MOROCCO: FEBRUARY 20 MOVEMENT, LOCAL TANSIKIYATS, AND THE STRUGGLE FOR REAL CHANGE? By Fatima Hadji A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of George Mason University in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Conflict Analysis and Resolution Committee: _________________________________________ Chair of Committee _________________________________________ _________________________________________ _________________________________________ Graduate Program Coordinator _________________________________________ Director, School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution Date: ____________________________________ Summer Semester 2015 George Mason University Fairfax, VA Social Mobilization in Morocco: February 20 Movement, Local Tansikiyats, and the Struggle for Real Change? A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at George Mason University By Fatima Hadji Master of Interdisciplinary Studies George Mason University, 2008 Bachelor of Science George Mason University, 2002 Dissertation Director: Terrence Lyons, Associate Professor School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution Summer Semester 2015 George Mason University Fairfax, Virginia THIS WORK IS LICENSED UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTION-NODERIVS 3.0 UNPORTED LICENSE. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS كلمة شكر وعرفان أتقدم بخالص شكري وامتناني للجنة اﻻشراف المتكونة من اﻻساتدة الكرام الدكتور ترانس ﻻينس، الدكتورة أغنشكة بزينسكة ، و الدكتور بسام حداد على قبولهم اﻹشراف على هذا البحث، وإنارتهم لي الطريق بتوجيهاتهم السديدة. كما أتقدم بالشكر الجزيل للدكتور ترانس ﻻينس على تجاوبيه السريع و نصائحه و صبره طوال مدة البحث. أشكر كذالك الدكتور دان بويلو على دعمه المعنوي و صداقته عبر السنوات. كما أعبر عن خالص الشكر والتقدير لشابات وشباب حركة 20 فبراير الذين أعطوني من وقتهم و طاقتهم الكثير، فكانت بصمتهم واضحة في هذا البحث. أهدي هذا البحث لوالدي اللذان رباني على الصبر و المثابرة و على مبدء التفاؤل و اﻻعتراف بالجميل. I am greatly indebted to many people who have helped along the way to translate a dream of a girl from an Amazigh village in the hinterland of Morocco into reality. I am most grateful to my committee chair, Dr. Terrence Lyons, for his excellent academic supervision, his fast feedback, insightful comments, and continued encouragement. I am also thankful to my committee members: Dr. Agnieszka Paczynska and Dr. Bassam Haddad, respectively for their unwavering support, feedback, and comments. I thank Dr. Don Boileau for his advice, friendship, and his continuous support over the years. I would like to express my gratitude to my family and friends for always being there for me. I would like also thank everyone who assisted me during this process and my interviewees for their time, energy, ideas and thoughts, and all February 20 movement youth who took to the street and continue to struggle for positive change. I dedicate this study to my parents who instilled in me the values of perseverance, patience, optimism, and gratitude. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Tables .................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii List of Abbreviations ......................................................................................................... ix ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER 1 – BACKGROUND: FEBRUARY 20 IN PERSPECTIVE .......................... 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 The Scope of the Study: Contextualizing the February 20 Movement ........................... 5 Regional Context .......................................................................................................... 5 Moroccan Context ......................................................................................................... 8 TANSKIKYATS Les Premiers Pas du Virtuel ............................................................. 14 TANSIKIYATS: National Council for Support ............................................................ 21 What is the Puzzle? ....................................................................................................... 23 Significance of the Study .............................................................................................. 34 CHAPTER 2 – February 20 Movement Components ...................................................... 38 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 38 Youth at the Core of February 20 .................................................................................. 38 Who Are the Febrayeryeens? ........................................................................................ 40 A Structured Movement within an Unstructured Movement: Al-Adl Wal Ihsane ...... 42 Adl Wal Ihsane Religious Ideology ............................................................................ 45 Adl Wal Ihane and the Makhzan ................................................................................ 47 Adl Wal Ihane: Yassine’s Leadership and Charisma ................................................. 49 February 20: Adl Wal Ihsane Participation ................................................................ 53 Adl Wal Ihsane: Is It a Rational Political Actor? ...................................................... 56 Adl Wal Ihsane: The Sudden Exit from February 20? ............................................... 61 The Question of an Ethnic Group: The Amazigh/ Berber ............................................ 66 Who are the Amazigh/ Berbers? ................................................................................. 67 iv Politicization of Amazigh Identity .............................................................................. 69 The Amazigh and the February 20 Movement ........................................................... 73 Chapter Summary .......................................................................................................... 75 CHAPTER 3—A BROADER PERSPECTIVE: EXPLORING LITERATURE ............. 76 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 76 Social Movements are Not a “Thing” ........................................................................... 87 Do they Matter: Social Networks .................................................................................. 99 Ta’atir Al-hirak: Collective Action Frames ................................................................ 104 Framing of Claims and Accounting for Emotions ...................................................... 110 Political Opportunity ................................................................................................... 114 How about the Makhzan: State Strategies ................................................................... 120 Chapter Summary ........................................................................................................ 126 CHAPTER 4- TANSIKIYATS: LOCALIZING COLLECTIVE ACTION .................. 128 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 128 TANSIKYATS: The Question of Existing Structures ................................................ 130 TANSIKIYATS: How They Operated and Functioned? ........................................... 135 TANSIKIYATS: Internal Dynamics, Subjective Elements, Framing, and Collective Identity ........................................................................................................................ 143 TANSIKYATS: The Importance of Collective Frames .............................................. 150 TANSIKIYATS: Cycles of protest, Mobilizing Collective Identity, and Collective Frames ......................................................................................................................... 153 TANSIKIYATS: The Question and the Dilemma of Collective Identity ................... 168 Chapter Summary ........................................................................................................ 175 CHAPTER 5 - METHODOLOGY ................................................................................. 177 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 177 Qualitative Research ................................................................................................... 178 Methods and Measures ................................................................................................ 180 Data Collection ............................................................................................................ 181 Research Limitations ................................................................................................... 196 CHAPTER 6- FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS: PART I ................................................. 198 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 198 General Observations and Findings: ..........................................................................