Why didn't a civil war break out in Morocco after the Arab Spring of 2011?

In 2011, various protests broke out in the West Asia region. The population demanded more political rights and the resignation of their leaders who, in most cases, had been in power for decades. Violence and instability gripped Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, and Tunisia. In the case of Morocco, a peaceful transition to democracy was achieved with the approval of a constitution and new institutions that limit the power of the monarchy.

In Syria, after the uprisings against the regime of President Bashar Al Assad, the Civil War acquired international dimensions with the intervention of powers such as Russia or the United States and the presence of extremist groups such as the Islamic State (ISIS). In addition, the largest refugee crisis since World War II arose. Images of the Syrian exodus gained worldwide relevance in mainstream news and social media discussions.

Syrian refugees on the shores of the Mediterranean. Source: CNN

In Libya, after the protests against Muammar Gaddafi, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) intervened with a series of bombings to help capture and kill the leader who ruled the country authoritarianly for 42 years. Today Libya is an unstable country. According to Amnesty International, "throughout the country, which is deeply divided, there are many armed conflicts and all parties have committed war crimes and serious human rights violations." [1]

In Egypt, thousands of people gathered in Tahrir Square to demand the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak who resigned from office and immediately the army seized power. The division was present in society. "Torture and other ill-treatment are commonplace [...] hundreds of people have been sentenced to death and tens of thousands more imprisoned for protesting or for being allegedly linked to the political opposition," Amnesty International writes in his publication “The Arab Spring, five years later”. [2]

In Morocco, institutional changes were achieved, the approval of a new constitution, the monarchy ceded powers and certain demands demanded by civil society were met during the Arab Spring protests of 2011. But then, why did Morocco achieve a less democratic transition? violent than the countries mentioned above?

Morocco, a historical approach

Hassan II was considered an authoritarian king. He ruled with a heavy hand, repression and torture. Despite this, the population of Morocco regards the monarchy as a sacred institution and the king as a respected figure. The reign of Hassan II encountered various difficulties, among which are: the constant clashes with Algeria over territorial issues; the demands of the Berbers[3], the general clamor of the population for the expansion of human rights and political freedoms.

Hassan II decreed Arabic as an official language in addition to French. During the last years of his reign he relaxed authoritarianism. He paved the way for reform, gave Islam political life, and accepted demands for human rights by creating a Human Rights Advisory Council. He ratified the United Nations Convention on Torture. He also released some political prisoners and launched a cleanup campaign against drug dealers, corrupt members and smugglers.

Hassan II died on July 23, 1999. His son Mohamed VI inherited the throne and his first major action as king was to fire controversial interior minister Priss Basri, a symbol of secrecy and oppression during the reign of his father. During the first years of his reign, Mohamed VI undertook a deeper reform for political liberalization and the recognition of greater human rights. He tried to change his father's way of ruling. He was more flexible, avoided repression and a strong hand.

The young king gave amnesty and compensation to political prisoners of the old regime. He created a National Human Rights Commission (CNDH). In addition, he promoted a new family code - raising the age of marriage to 18 years, granting legal equality to men and women, preventing wives from being repudiated by their husbands - but still did not recognize most Berber rights. [4]

These advances stopped when the king decided to join the United States' “fight against terror”. Repression appeared again and secret jails were documented to interrogate and torture prisoners. Censorship was applied in the media. A key event occurred in 2003 when suicide bombers killed 45 people in Casablanca. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Mohamed VI tried to make a slower and more progressive reform. Even so, he maintained the powers of the monarch: the right to choose the Prime Minister; dissolve parliament and legislate in its absence; declare a state of emergency and revise the constitution by referendum. Finally, he decreed Berber as an official language alongside Arabic and French. [5]

During his government, the king surrounded himself with technocrats who graduated from prestigious universities in the United States. He undertook an economic opening by requesting various loans from the International Monetary Fund. He accelerated the process of economic liberalization. In cooperation with the World Bank, various development projects were carried out.

King Mohamed VI. Source: Vanity Fair

Morocco had a trade deficit of 15 billion dollars in 2008. France was its main trading partner with a concentration of 75% of Moroccan exports. The GDP per capita was 2236 euros. According to official data, 15% of the population lived under poverty. However, other unofficial observations agreed that this figure was approximately 30%. Political participation in elections consisted of less than 50%. There was a depoliticization among the young people who did not distinguish between left or right. The brain drain to the United States and Europe was a constant due to the few job opportunities offered by Morocco. Finally, the majority of university graduates were unemployed. [6]

The Moroccan Arab Spring and the new constitution

In December 2010, a trader in Tunisia blew himself up. Protests broke out. The enthusiastic demand for reforms quickly spread — by a democratization snowball effect — to Egypt during January 2011 and the nearby countries of North Africa and West Asia.

On February 20, 2011, protests began in Morocco. Society was tired of the lack of employment, official corruption, the destruction of Berber rights and the monopolization of politics by the monarchy. The February 20 Movement emerged, made up of a coalition of young people, members of the secular-Westernized middle class, political parties —such as the Justice and Development Party (PJD)—, an educated elite, and businessmen. [7]

The main demands of the February 20 Movement focused on greater job opportunities, democracy, and constitutional reforms. The king faced the seriousness of these demands. There was tension and fear that the protests would escalate into violence and cause instability — as in the other countries that were experiencing the wave of Arab Spring protests. Given this, Mohamed VI decided to give in to the pressure of organized civil society. On November 9, 2011, he announced the creation of a commission to draft a new constitution.

Protests in Morocco against the king. Source: The Country

Some of the constitutional changes that expanded democratic rights were the following: a) the Prime Minister would be elected through elections and would have autonomy; b) the king's powers to intervene in politics were limited; c) the legislative powers of parliament were strengthened; d) greater independence was granted to the judicial system; e) the king would continue to be the supreme arbitrator and retain certain powers; f) the place occupied by Islam and the Berbers was resolved.

The new Constitution was not to the liking of the February 20 Movement. They considered that it did not have popular legitimacy. The opportunity to establish a parliamentary monarchy had been lost and the king continued to concentrate most of the powers since he had only ceded to the Prime Minister the ability to dissolve Parliament, to appoint some ministers and other senior officials. [8]

Final Thoughts

The king is a very important figure in Morocco and after the outbreak of the Arab Spring protests in 2011 —with the violent international scene, NATO besieging Muammar Gaddafi and international powers seeking to intervene in the Syrian Civil War—, the Moroccan monarchy saw its existence threatened.

King Mohamed VI with intelligence and cunning, derived from the analysis of the situation in other similar countries, decided to give in to social pressures before continuing with the repression and causing more deaths. International media pressure at the time condemned Hosni Mubarak, Muammar Gaddafi and Bashar Al Assad. Violent repression by the king would have put him in that category for possibly threatening political stability and his own power as head of the Moroccan royal house.

The February 20 Movement had an important role as an actor. This grouped the demands of the sectors of society that demanded changes since the reign of Hassan II. In addition, the international context was key in getting Mohamed VI to give in to new constitutional changes. The democratization process has been gradual since the reign of Hassan II. Morocco faces great challenges and the youth will be key to the democratic future.