Assessment and recommendations

The process of political liberalisation in Morocco largely preceded the so-called Arab Spring. Unlike most Arab countries, Morocco had set up a multiparty system following its national independence in 1956. Since then, the recognition of political pluralism was linked to the central position of the Monarchy, a fundamental factor in Moroccan politics due to the executive, legislative and judicial powers assigned to the King Mohamed VI. The Moroccan political system strikes a delicate balance between tradition and modernity. The traditional practice of political and economic power by the monarchy through a diffuse network of notables (the Makhzen, always present in political studies Morocco) was gradually adapted to the institutions of a modern constitutional system, yet without disappearing.