Social movements in Morocco
Rethinking Political Opportunities in Terms of Claims and Outcomes
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3979411 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mohamed Mifdal (0000-0002-4622-3037, Chouaib Doukkali University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 255-291 |
| Publication date | 2024-03-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of North African Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1362-9387 • E-ISSN: 1743-9345 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13629387.2023.2197219 |
| OpenAlex | W4362626135 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 27 |
The close scrutiny of social movements in Morocco during the last decade shows that contentious politics changed dramatically from overt high-risk acts of indignation and public defiance in the streets during the Arab Spring to low-risk, tactical boycott campaigns on Facebook and single-issue movements during the last four years. The purpose of this paper is to suggest how we might read, interpret and understand the politics of contention in Morocco in terms of political opportunities. This article argues that political opportunities can be best apprehended using some context-dependent variables and showing the causal correlation between claims as an independent variable and outcomes represented by three dependent variables, namely recognition, policy change and repression. The aim is to map the field and study the political opportunities available to social movements through their contingent antagonistic interactions with the state. The study of variables revealed how structural features of the state and its conjunctural aspects shape political opportunities in Morocco. Though tactical variations were at play, the article delineated relatively constant mechanisms in these interactions. The article analysed data collected from social media and state television using a mixed method approach (netnography, grounded theory and critical discourse analysis). The results show that the Moroccan regime has been reluctant to respond positively to the social movements’ claims and to implement any qualitative changes in policy, and reacted in most cases by smear campaigns, discrediting counter-narratives before using coercive means. The Moroccan state is more preoccupied with promoting its image internationally, though
Boycott · Contentious politics · Context (archaeology · Geography · Indignation · Political economy · Political opportunity · Political science · Politics · Scrutiny · Social movement · Social movement theory · Sociology · State (computer science · Law · Multiculturalism, Politics, Migration, Gender · Political Conflict and Governance
Struggle, politics, and reform
Strength in Numbers
Political Movements and Violence in Central America
Regimes and Repertoires
Master and Disciple
Reading Images
Beyond Markets and States
Breaching events and the emotional reactions of the public
How Social Movements Die
The Logic of Collective Action
Digital politics on Facebook during the Arab Spring in Morocco
The European Union and Political Reform in Morocco
Civil Society and Political Change in Morocco
From ‘the effect of repression’ toward ‘the response to repression
Repression, Backfire, and The Theory of Transformative Events
Introduction
Repression and Dissent
Repression and Activism among the Arab Spring’s First Movers
L-Makhzan al-'Akbari
Concessions, Repression, and Political Protest in the Iranian Revolution
Constitutional reforms in Morocco
Protest and Political Opportunities
How social media matter
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |