ABSTRACT
The borders inherited from colonization and the Western Sahara question are the main disputes between Morocco and Algeria since their independence. In recent years, the two countries stared fortifying an important part of their common land border, which has been officially closed since 1994. The fortification is done simultaneously and unilaterally from both sides. The regional rivalry between the two countries and their long-standing political differences preclude any possibility of agreement on a common way to fortify and control their land border. Although Algeria and Morocco simultaneously proceeded to fortify their common land border, the priorities of their objectives are different because of each country’s specific challenges. The main hypothesis of the chapter is that the fortification of the Morocco–Algeria border is an aspect of regional competition between the two states and a tool to maintain the existing Maghreb subsystem, which is in both states’ interest at this time.
