ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that the decision of the King Mohammed VI to adopt a new constitution was clearly aimed at calming the growing dissent among the population and containing the protests which started to break out after February 20, 2011. The chapter analyses the major features of the constituent process, highlighting how and to what extent the public was involved in this process. In particular, the chapter discusses the following aspects: the lack of a democratically elected constituent assembly, the lack of transparency and the rapidity of the process, and the fact that the consultation through which the constitution was ratified was more similar to an authoritarian plebiscite than to a democratic referendum. Mohammed VI announced on March 9, 2011, a "global constitutional reform" , which represented a strategic decision so as to ensure the regime's stability and continuity.
