Morocco's new constitution and the Western Sahara conflict – a missed opportunity?

Morocco’s new constitution and the Western Sahara conflict – a missed opportunity?

Anna Theofilopoulou, a former official in the UN Department of Political Affairs who worked on Western Sahara, argues that Morocco’s 2011 constitution delivered far less reform than promised. In her account the drafting was rushed and opaque, the referendum on it had irregularities and the palace kept decisive control over the formation of the government in November 2011. The monarchy’s autocratic and clientelist system remained in place.

She then turns to Western Sahara and traces Morocco’s approach from the 1988 settlement proposals through the voter identification process and James Baker’s mediation to the 2003 Peace Plan, which Morocco rejected. She criticises Morocco for having no long-term strategy, ignoring Sahrawi opinion and relying on powerful allies. Her central point is that autonomy is hard to sustain under authoritarian rule, so Morocco’s 2007 autonomy proposal cannot work without real democratisation. She speaks favourably of the UN Peace Plan, which included a referendum with independence as an option.

She concludes that Morocco’s partners should stop backing its positions uncritically and press for internal reform, and she warns that the stalemate risks renewed unrest.

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