The Hegemony of the Moroccan Monarchy

Morocco is a peculiar country in many ways. Its location on the far west of North Africa as well as the context of its neighboring countries has made it quite the exception in the area. Morocco is run by a monarchy and through its political apparatus gives an important deal of power to the king. Recently, the whole middle eastern and North African scene have been the subject of turmoil as many of the countries in the area have managed to change through the actions of its population to overthrow the corrupted powers in place. In the case of Morocco, a counter regime movement appeared as well, but was lacking the radical ambitions of the neighboring countries populations. The movement known as 20th February was more for reform in the system while keeping the same structure. According to Molina, “This coincidence of official celebrations and mass mobilization against the regime – both employing the discourse of democratization – illustrates the duality of the political process in which Morocco has been immersed since the beginning of the so-called Arab Spring. On the one hand, the new and unforeseen regional dynamic has acted as a catalyst for a cycle of unprecedented protests in the country, breaking new ground in terms of demands and spreading across the kingdom. On the other hand, the regime promptly responded to these changing dynamics by offering generous socio-economic measures and political concessions in the classic reformist tradition of the Moroccan monarchy.”(2011). One of the main demands expressed by the group was for separations of powers and a transformation of the role of the king to a more symbolic one. However, the result of those events are not meeting their initial demands as the proposal reforms are timid and keep most power with the king, the plans as proposed by the king does not respond to the demand