Suchergebnisse

The uprisings that swept across the Middle East and North Africa during 2011 have largely bypassed Morocco. The absence of tumult and the loudly trumpeted package of constitutional reform measures endorsed in a July 2011 national referendum further strengthened Morocco's favorable image in the West as a country that has mixed tradition with modernity and an openness to foreign cultures, and which is both politically stable and steadily evolving toward greater pluralism. Morocco's success in having thus far dodged upheaval warrants explanation, for the country suffers from many of the same underlying ills that have driven protests elsewhere. However, Morocco's starting point, in terms of its political institutions and political culture, is different in ways that provide some comparative advantages. Adapted from the source document.

Includes Bibliographical References of Part I (pp. 95-100). ; Seven years ago, the Arab summit conference, hosted by Tunisia's long-serving autocratic president Zayn Al-Abidine Ben Ali, issued a ringing declaration proclaiming Arab leaders' commitment to a comprehensive reform of political life. Democratic practice would be consolidated, they stated, by expanding the role of civil society, widening women's participation in all fields of life, while reinforcing their rights and status and protecting the family and Arab youth. This would be done in conjunction with comprehensive economic and social development that placed a premium on education, social solidarity and combating poverty, while guaranteeing an independent judiciary and the freedom of expression, thought and belief. The declaration, a year after America had occupied Baghdad and toppled the Iraqi Ba`th regime, was an acknowledgement of a stark fact – that collectively and individually, Arab states had become weaker, vis-à-vis both other regional actors and the international political and economic order, and that something fundamental was needed to rectify the situation. ; peer-reviewed