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Arab Reform and Foreign Aid: Lessons from Morocco
In the years since Mohammed VI ascended the throne, Morocco has taken many steps toward social, economic, and political transformation. A vigorous public debate over concepts such as democracy and power is visible. Citizen participation has increased, and individual and women's rights have expanded. Journalists press the limits of free speech, and a vibrant and growing Islamist political party is challenging the parliament to play a more active role in public policy and governance. Indeed, a broad consensus favoring political reform and social change can be seen across a wide spectrum of Moroccan society. Yet, uncertainty lingers. Morocco faces serious socioeconomic ills and unemployment. The unresolved dispute in the Western Sahara persists, sapping both resources and energy. And the threat of terrorism after the 2003 Casablanca bombings remains.

Morocco's emerging discourse on democracy, reform, and royal power has seized the attention of officials in both Europe and the United States, many of whom embrace the king's vision and want to support Moroccan development and modernization. The United States and Europe have supported economic development programs in Morocco for decades, alongside efforts to boost human rights and fight corruption. But it was the Bush administration's post-9/11 embrace of democracy and political change in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as strategies to combat extremism—and the EU's realization at the same time of the inadequacies of the existing Barcelona process—that transformed Morocco from a friend to a strategic U.S. and European priority. The heightened importance Western powers ascribe to Middle Eastern reform, and Morocco'sprominence as both an example and test case of that reform, raises a host of issues for Americans, Europeans, and Moroccans. This volume addresses some of those issues, including: What are the most important elements in a Middle Eastern country's reform process? What is the optimal relationship between the host government and foreign donors? Is transatlantic consensus on these issues achievable, or even desirable?

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Arab Reform and Foreign Aid: Lessons from Morocco
In the years since Mohammed VI ascended the throne, Morocco has taken many steps toward social, economic, and political transformation. A vigorous public debate over concepts such as democracy and power is visible. Citizen participation has increased, and individual and women's rights have expanded. Journalists press the limits of free speech, and a vibrant and growing Islamist political party is challenging the parliament to play a more active role in public policy and governance. Indeed, a broad consensus favoring political reform and social change can be seen across a wide spectrum of Moroccan society. Yet, uncertainty lingers. Morocco faces serious socioeconomic ills and unemployment. The unresolved dispute in the Western Sahara persists, sapping both resources and energy. And the threat of terrorism after the 2003 Casablanca bombings remains.

Morocco's emerging discourse on democracy, reform, and royal power has seized the attention of officials in both Europe and the United States, many of whom embrace the king's vision and want to support Moroccan development and modernization. The United States and Europe have supported economic development programs in Morocco for decades, alongside efforts to boost human rights and fight corruption. But it was the Bush administration's post-9/11 embrace of democracy and political change in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as strategies to combat extremism—and the EU's realization at the same time of the inadequacies of the existing Barcelona process—that transformed Morocco from a friend to a strategic U.S. and European priority. The heightened importance Western powers ascribe to Middle Eastern reform, and Morocco'sprominence as both an example and test case of that reform, raises a host of issues for Americans, Europeans, and Moroccans. This volume addresses some of those issues, including: What are the most important elements in a Middle Eastern country's reform process? What is the optimal relationship between the host government and foreign donors? Is transatlantic consensus on these issues achievable, or even desirable?

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Arab Reform and Foreign Aid: Lessons from Morocco

Arab Reform and Foreign Aid: Lessons from Morocco

Arab Reform and Foreign Aid: Lessons from Morocco

Arab Reform and Foreign Aid: Lessons from Morocco

Overview

In the years since Mohammed VI ascended the throne, Morocco has taken many steps toward social, economic, and political transformation. A vigorous public debate over concepts such as democracy and power is visible. Citizen participation has increased, and individual and women's rights have expanded. Journalists press the limits of free speech, and a vibrant and growing Islamist political party is challenging the parliament to play a more active role in public policy and governance. Indeed, a broad consensus favoring political reform and social change can be seen across a wide spectrum of Moroccan society. Yet, uncertainty lingers. Morocco faces serious socioeconomic ills and unemployment. The unresolved dispute in the Western Sahara persists, sapping both resources and energy. And the threat of terrorism after the 2003 Casablanca bombings remains.

Morocco's emerging discourse on democracy, reform, and royal power has seized the attention of officials in both Europe and the United States, many of whom embrace the king's vision and want to support Moroccan development and modernization. The United States and Europe have supported economic development programs in Morocco for decades, alongside efforts to boost human rights and fight corruption. But it was the Bush administration's post-9/11 embrace of democracy and political change in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as strategies to combat extremism—and the EU's realization at the same time of the inadequacies of the existing Barcelona process—that transformed Morocco from a friend to a strategic U.S. and European priority. The heightened importance Western powers ascribe to Middle Eastern reform, and Morocco'sprominence as both an example and test case of that reform, raises a host of issues for Americans, Europeans, and Moroccans. This volume addresses some of those issues, including: What are the most important elements in a Middle Eastern country's reform process? What is the optimal relationship between the host government and foreign donors? Is transatlantic consensus on these issues achievable, or even desirable?

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780892064861
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date: 10/13/2006
Series: Significant Issues Series
Pages: 112
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Haim Malka is a fellow with the Middle East Program at CSIS. Jon B. Alterman is a senior fellow and director of the Middle East Program at CSIS.
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Current Affairs & Politics
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