Morocco’s foreign policy is dominated by the status of Western Sahara to the point where almost everything else is ignored. Even ties with Western Europe and the U.S. depend on whether or not other countries agree with Morocco’s proposal for autonomy. The U.S. supported this proposal, which had been carefully worked out with the Bush Administration, until 2009. Morocco has put a lot of money into the territory, and some experts say it spends about USD 2.7 billion per year on Western Sahara and its 385,000 people. There is a clear difference between the level of development and social services here and in Morocco. Most Sahrawis want self-government, not self-determination. They want to be protected and have their own identity, not to be free.
Diplomatic relation with Algeria
Algeria’s continued support for the Polisario Front in the Western Sahara dispute has made it hard for Morocco and Algeria to get along over the past few decades. Even though, they have diplomatic ties and high-level leaders from both countries talk to each other from time to time. In history, Morocco comes from the Almoravid and Almohad Berber empires. In the 11th century, the Almoravid and Almohad Berber empires started a process that led to an empire that stretched from southern Spain to Senegal. So, Morocco has irredentist claims to a large area that includes Western Sahara, all of Mauritania, and parts of Algeria and Mali. This area is called “Greater Morocco”, and it includes all of Mauritania and parts of Algeria and Mali. In 1955, talks about Morocco’s independence began. One of the most important questions was, of course, where the borders of the new country would be. After losing at Dien Bien Phu, France left Indochina and had to deal with the start of a war in Algeria. The Moroccan question had to be solved, so the Faure government had no choice but to do so.
Border dispute
Allal El Fassi was in exile in Cairo. He was one of the two most important people in the national movement. On March 28, 1956, he spoke out against all new borders that “cover a fifth of Morocco in its historical borders”. He said that Grand Morocco included most of the Algerian Sahara, a large part of Mali, and all of northwestern Mauritania. The El Fassi argument of course is history, it is based on the past millennium of Morocco, which saw seven dynasties succeed in turning towards African territory. Some separatists wanted the Maghreb (Abd el-Krim) countries to work together, while others wanted Maghreb countries to stay separate (Mohammed V, Mehdi Ben Barka). Allal al-Fassi could only find a way to meet in the middle of these two currents. Allal al-Fassi returned to Morocco a few months later, in August 1956, and became head of the Istiqlal. A few months after the accession of Algeria to independence, Hassan II adopted its eastern neighbor more diplomatic policy. Hassan II showed goodwill by giving up on extending the Moroccan border to the east. He also gave up on the idea of a “Greater Morocco”. Six years later, Morocco gave Mauritania its official approval. Grand Morocco was finally put to rest, and Morocco’s plans to grow were scaled back. In its place was the Moroccan Sahara, which became a new national cause that the kingdom could not give up without losing face.
The continental divide
The 34th AU summit, which took place in Addis Ababa, showed how much Morocco has grown in importance. Algeria no longer has a seat on any of the AU’s councils or committees, including the Peace and Security Council, which it had run since 2008. Moussa Faki, the former president of Chad, was re-elected to lead the AU Commission for another four years. This was seen as good for Morocco by Rabat. It was also when the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was chosen. The DRC is one of fifteen African countries that have opened consulates in Western Sahara at Morocco’s request. Also, the summit didn’t talk much about Western Sahara, even though Algeria and South Africa tried to get it on the agenda. This situation could be avoided if the EU and the US led a diplomatic effort to reduce tensions between the two countries. The current escalation between Morocco and Algeria, as well as the changing regional dynamics shown by the shifts in the AU, require the EU and the U.S. to pay attention. It also shows how important it is for both countries to use their political and economic power to start a thaw between Morocco and Algeria and avoid a full-scale military confrontation in the Maghreb.
