An African Agenda

Morocco’s Migration Discourse in the African Union and Its Janus-Faced Migration Diplomacy

Bibliographic Data

ID14816615
AuthorsRuben Wissing (0000-0001-6751-3124, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume37
Issue2
Pages231-262
Publication date2024-12-20
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAVRUG-bulletin/Afrika Focus (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0772-0793 • E-ISSN: 0772-084X
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1163/2031356x-20240203
OpenAlexW4405761509
LanguageEN
References cited23

Since its 2013 National Immigration and Asylum Strategy, Morocco has deployed an intra-African migration discourse of solidarity and human rights. King Mohammed vi was appointed African Union (AU) “champion” on the migration issue and presented the bloc with an African Agenda for Migration. This paper assesses the protection potential of this agenda for forced migrants. To uncover underlying power and strategic interests, the African Agenda on Migration and Morocco’s accompanying discourse are contextualised in relation to Morocco’s general African policy and its overall migration policy. Also a double discrepancy is examined, between Morocco’s diplomatic stance towards the AU and towards the EU and between its discourse and governance practices. The paper shows how Morocco skilfully employs migration diplomacy to further its geostrategic objectives at the African continental level, as it does in other international relations. This underpins the conclusion that the Agenda has little potential to improve the protection of forced migrants

Champion · Development economics · Diplomacy · Economics · European union · Foreign policy · Immigration · International trade · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Power sharing · Sociology · Solidarity · African Studies and Geopolitics · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · International Development and Aid · Law

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