Moroccan Party Withdraws from Government; Obama Calls King
Morocco's second largest political party, Istiqlal, is withdrawing from the coalition government. Istiqlal spokesman Adil Benhamza said, “The party can never remain in a government that continues to pursue policies targeting the buying power of the citizens by raising prices ...
State Department Human Rights Country Report: Morocco/W. Sahara
In the State Department's newest human rights report on Morocco, the analysis identifies "little or no progress by year’s end in passing necessary to implement the advances, such as gender equality and parity, provided for in the ...
Reform in Morocco “Real” but “Modest,” Pollock Says
In a recent piece for Al-Monitor, David Pollock outlines two prevalent and opposing views of Morocco’s political transition since the Arab Spring. Some analysts and Moroccan officials point to Morocco’s ability to change while maintaining stability as a possible ...
POMED Notes: “The Resistible Rise of the Islamists?”
The Woodrow Wilson Center held an event titled “The Resistible Rise of the Islamists?” on February 27th featuring Marina Ottaway, Senior Scholar at the Wilson Center, and Les Campbell, Senior Associate and Regional Director, Middle East and North Africa at the National Democratic Institute. Haleh Esfandiari, Director of the Wilson Center’s Middle East Program, moderated. The event coincided with the release of Ottaway’s paper “The Resistible Rise of Islamist Parties.” For full event ...
POMED Video of the Day: POMEPS Conversation with Matthew Buehler on Morocco’s PJD, Mauritanian Politics
In its latest conversation, the Project on Middle East Political Science's Marc Lynch hosted a conversation with doctoral candidate Matthew Buehler. In the interview, Buehler discusses the political landscape in Morocco and the PJD's role since the November 2011 elections, as well as the political situation in Mauritania. Buehler's doctoral dissertation compares the success and failure of opposition alliances between Islamists and leftists in the Arab Spring, specifically in Tunisia, Morocco, and ...
Morocco: Sahrawi Activists Sentenced, Trials Questioned
This week, Morocco sentenced two dozen of activists from the Western Sahara for allegedly killing members of the security forces in 2010. Eight were handed life sentences, while four received 30-year terms. However, Amnesty International called the trials "flawed" and ...
At Two Year Anniversary, Morocco Protest Movement Dwindles
Activists in Morocco yesterday marked the second anniversary of the founding of the February 20 Movement by protesting outside parliament and calling for the release of political prisoners, dignity and freedom. Some 800 people participated in the evening ...
POMED Notes: “Elections and Politics in North Africa”
On Monday, February 11 the Elliot School of International Affairs’ Institute for Middle East Studies at the George Washington University hosted a panel discussion entitled “Elections and Politics in North Africa.” The panel featured Ellen Lust, Associate Professor of Political Science at Yale University, Lindsay Benstead, Professor of Political Science at Portland State University and Matthew Buehler, Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Texas-Austin, and was moderated by Marc Lynch, Associate Professor ...
POMED Notes: “Freedom in the World 2013: Democratic Breakthroughs in the Balance”
On Wednesday, January 16, 2013, Freedom House and the Council on Foreign Relations hosted a panel discussion on the release of Freedom House’s annual report on the state of political rights and civil liberties in the world, entitled “Freedom in the World 2013: Democratic Breakthroughs in the Balance.” The panel, moderated by Foreign Affairs Correspondent for CNN Jill Dougherty, featured Arch Puddington, Vice President for Research at Freedom House; Larry ...
Wilson Center Releases Arab Spring Paper
To mark the 2nd anniversary of the Arab Spring, the Woodrow Wilson Center released a report, titled "Has the Arab Spring Lived up to Expectations?" The report features opinions from 39 experts from the Middle East, North Africa, ...
Morocco Urges Political Transition in Syria
Photo Credit: AFPFollowing international recognition of the Syrian National Coalition as “the ‘legitimate representative’ body of the Syrian people,” Morocco’s King Mohammed VI encouraged the U.N. Security Council to reach an expedient consensus regarding political transition in ...
Opposition Frustration in Morocco, Agreement to Avert Strike in Tunisia
Opposition leaders in Morocco are growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of reform in their country. "These days, many here (in Morocco) are questioning whether the king and his entourage really gave up anything at all," said Suzanne Daley in the New ...
Western Sahara May Seek U.N. Observer Status
According to an article translated by Al-Monitor, president of the Sahara National Council and head of the Polisario Front’s negotiating team Khatri Eddouh "did not rule out that the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic may request U.N. recognition as an observer state" as ...
POMED Notes – Women After the Arab Awakening: Making Change
On Thursday (10/25), The Brookings Institution co-hosted a panel discussion with Vital Voices Global Partnership and Project on Middle East Democracy entitled “Women After the Arab Awakening.” The panel included Souad Slaoui, of the Isis Center in Morocco; Randa Naffa, of Sadaqa in Jordan; Marianne Ibrahim, of al-Gisr Center for Development in Egypt; and Lina Ahmad, of the Lebanese League for Women in Business. Tamara Cofman Wittes, Director of the Saban Center for Middle ...