Morocco can trace its contemporary approach back to the end of the Cold War. While many in the region saw the Soviet Union’s collapse as a destabilizing development–and consequently tightened domestic control–Morocco’s monarch did the opposite. The previously authoritarian Hassan II began a gradual process of social liberalization that included the release of political prisoners (chiefly leftist dissidents from the country’s north and minority opposition figures from Morocco’s contested south), an expansion of civil society and a dialogue with the country’s various political factions.
These early efforts kicked into high gear in 1999, when Mohammed VI ascended to the Moroccan throne following the death of his father. In the years since the young monarch (still only in his mid-40s) has set in motion a sweeping series of social and religious reforms that are equal parts idealistic and pragmatic. [Click here for the full article]
