The Non-Interventionary Norm Prevails: an Analysis of the Western Sahara

The Non-Interventionary Norm Prevails: an Analysis of the Western Sahara

The paper argues that the international norm of non-intervention, though challenged by recent humanitarian and security interventions, still dominates in many nationalist disputes, including the Western Sahara. When major powers avoid decisive involvement and instead maintain balanced relations with both sides, conflicts can be prolonged rather than resolved.

The Western Sahara conflict began after Spain’s 1976 withdrawal, when Morocco and Mauritania sought to annex the territory, opposed by the Polisario Front backed by Algeria. Morocco eventually controlled most of the area, building defensive berms that created a military stalemate. A UN-brokered ceasefire has held since 1991, but the promised referendum on self-determination remains delayed.

Major powers—Soviet Union, United States, France, and Spain—followed “ambiguous neutrality,” giving economic or military aid to both Morocco and Algeria/Polisario while avoiding direct intervention. Other regional actors like Saudi Arabia and Libya played shifting roles. Because the conflict poses little threat to wider stability and holds limited strategic value, this policy of non-intervention has sustained the stalemate for decades.

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Source: JSTOR 

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