ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the phenomena of ‘associative clientelism’ as an important component in the reconfiguration of the state’s patronage system in the Rif region during Mohammed VI’s reign and the resultant complex network of dependency. Within this network, Riffian elites have acted as brokers between the regional and national level in the same way local associations have brokered between these elites and the Riffian population. The strengths and weaknesses of this double-patronage system are addressed through the analysis of the role it played during the cycles of protests from 2011 to 2017, showing how clients challenged the role of patrons and brokers as mediators and forced them to renegotiate the nature and basis of their clientelistic relations.
