Morocco has experienced numerous ethnic shifts throughout its long history, and a succession of human populations, cultures, and legal codes have strongly molded the different traditions of the country. This paper focuses on High Atlas Amazigh Peoples, who are deeply intertwined with their local environment through the agdal system, a customary institution of territorial and natural resource governance. The agdal-like systems are centered in the control and resilient management of a myriad of natural resources but most importantly pastures, forests, and water, and in the face of constant uncertainty and scarcity, support the Amazighs to adapt and preserve their rights and biocultural diversity in an increasingly globalized context.

This chapter interrogates the South–South internationalism of renowned US Nuyorican poet Miguel Algarín. It argues that the abjection in Morocco featured in his poem “Tangiers” reacts to French coloniality. More specifically, Algarín’s Orientalist evocations of underage child prostitution operate under a French hegemony, coming into crisis when a Third World alliance fails. Although his engagement with African self-determination exhibits residues of a French hegemony undergirding and undercutting what I term a poetic Latin-African solidarity, his South–South approach enriches postcolonial studies, in which Latin American – and, by extension, Latinx – identities have been sidelined.

This chapter examines the importance of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) as tools for the management of fish and a wide range of other aquatic species below water. Drawing lessons from the MPA legal framework in Morocco, it examines the legal gaps and barriers in the management of MPAs and proposes recommendations on how to strengthen the management of MPAs to advance biodiversity and the protection of the marine and ocean ecosystem. This chapter examines how such legal barriers and gaps to the management of MPAs in Morocco can be coherently addressed to advance biodiversity and the conservation of the marine ecosystem.

This chapter explores the complex connection between upholding land rights and the successful application of nature-based solutions (NBS) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It underscores the necessity of integrating indigenous wisdom, local customs, and community engagement into the design of NBS. By doing so, this research underscores the significance of honoring land rights, maintaining sustainable livelihoods, and achieving goals related to biodiversity conservation. By deeply examining the intricate relationship among land tenure, community engagement, and effective conservation practices, this chapter makes a substantial contribution to the ongoing academic conversation about how to practically implement NBS for conserving biodiversity.

Chapter 3 provides evidence from cross-national statistical analysis as well as two case studies that are consistent with the major implications of the theory. First, it draws on internet search data, survey data, and short case studies of Russia and Morocco to demonstrate that power-sharing arrangements affect how the public attributes blame under autocracy. The case studies also suggest that autocrats delegate strategically in response to shifting threats to their rule. Second, the chapter uses cross-national data from Varieties of Democracy to test my expectations about how strategic interactions around delegation and blame influence broader governance outcomes in autocracy. The analysis indicates that autocrats who share power more are less vulnerable to popular discontent, which is consistent with their ability to shift blame more effectively. The analysis also shows that autocrats who share power more are less likely to use repression and more likely to provide a measure of accountability by sacking ministers when the public becomes dissatisfied. These findings indicate that the book’s arguments provide insights into a range of modern authoritarian regimes around the world.

Looks at James Simpson’s early career. Discusses the situation of Gibraltar and Tangier, the importance of Simpson’s diplomatic network and how it became Americanized over time as a result of the extensive diplomacy needed in the region.

The threat of Nasserism shaped the shah’s regional strategy in the 1950s and 1960s. This chapter explores the development of the shah’s policy of building relations with moderate allies in the Arab world who could help to contain and balance the radicalism of Nasser. The shah found two allies in North Africa: Tunisia under President Habib Bourguiba and Morocco under King Hassan II. Bourguiba and King Hassan were, like the shah, moderate rulers, with strong ties to the West, who shared the same concerns over Egyptian ambitions and the threat that Nasserism posed to regional stability. One of the strategies the shah developed, for which he sought the support of King Hassan in particular, was to challenge Nasser’s claims to leadership in the Islamic world, by attempting to form a separate grouping of Islamic countries. The ultimate manifestation of this was the Islamic Summit Conference, held in Rabat in 1969, in which King Hassan and the shah played leading roles.

Digital surveillance technologies using artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as computer vision and facial recognition are becoming cheaper and easier to integrate into governance practices worldwide. Morocco serves as an example of how such technologies are becoming key tools of governance in authoritarian contexts. Based on qualitative fieldwork including semi-structured interviews, observation, and extensive desk reviews, this chapter focusses on the role played by AI-enhanced technology in urban surveillance and the control of migration between the Moroccan–Spanish borders. Two cross-cutting issues emerge: first, while international donors provide funding for urban and border surveillance projects, their role in enforcing transparency mechanisms in their implementation remains limited; second, Morocco’s existing legal framework hinders any kind of public oversight. Video surveillance is treated as the sole prerogative of the security apparatus, and so far public actors have avoided to engage directly with the topic. The lack of institutional oversight and public debate on the matter raise serious concerns on the extent to which the deployment of such technologies affects citizens’ rights. AI-enhanced surveillance is thus an intrinsically transnational challenge in which private interests of economic gain and public interests of national security collide with citizens’ human rights across the Global North/Global South divide.

Matthew Paris was a monk at St. Albans who was a chronicler and artist and cartographer who illustrated his own works. The Chronica Majora is his longest work, from which an excerpt is taken recounting the otherwise unattested meeting between king John’s envoys to Morocco and the Muslim Caliph to whom John wishes to hand over Britain. The Caliph is shocked, and unimpressed by the envoys’ description of Britain and of the king, and he refuses the offer.