Why Morocco, one of the most stable countries in North Africa, faces new protests

With a model of quick but limited political concessions to protesters, Morocco largely avoided the political instability of the 2011 Arab Spring which has continued to have repercussions throughout the Middle East and North African region.

Since then, Morocco has faced other protests and successfully used a similar strategy of limited reforms to maintain stability. While tactics of modest political reform worked in the past, the resurgence of protests over the sentencing of activists involved in demonstrations last year shows that citizens are demanding more. Morocco’s existing path to stability, built on modest and gradual reforms, might not be enough.

Last summer, the death of a fishmonger and accusations of government neglect for the impoverished and ethnically Berber northern Rif region of Morocco led to protests that roiled the region and the country. King Mohammad VI responded by with political maneuvering. He removed minsters he blamed for failed development programs. He promised new infrastructure.

Last year's issues came to a head again yesterday, when a Moroccan court sentenced the leader of these protests, Nasser Zefzafi, and others, to 20 years in prison sparking a new round of demonstrations.

The king’s efforts to implement reforms while also cracking down on demonstrators is a middle road that may become increasingly difficult. As citizens see the impact of the demonstrations, they will likely continue to look to political mobilization to prompt change. At the same time, challenges facing the government are unlikely to go away and can’t readily be solved with “quick fixes.”

Like much of the region, Morocco suffers from persistent poverty and widespread youth unemployment. Indeed, at the heart of the protests in the Rif were concerns about economic development and demands for a new university and hospital. No matter the political reforms implemented by the government in Rabat, Morocco’s capital, these persistent issues are much harder to address. Until the government finds a way to provide economically viable options to these regions, tensions and protests are likely to recur.

The recent outcry against the prison sentences handed down to protesters from the Rif show that these reforms have potentially not gone far enough to regain the trust and support of the population and could even continue to threaten the stability of the kingdom. This would not only have implications for Morocco, but the whole of the North African region where the U.S. and Europe need stable allies to counter religious extremism.