ABSTRACT
The westernmost country in North Africa, the Kingdom of Morocco, has known the least disturbance during and since the 2011-2012 period known as the “the Arab Spring.” For several reasons, it has managed to keep at bay – and minimized – the contagion effect of the popular upheavals that engulfed the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. One of them is not contentment and prosperity across most of the population. In fact, many Moroccans have been quite unhappy with the living conditions, unemployment, poor quality of governance, corruption, and a host of other issues. Yet, they did not rise up and attempt to bring down the monarchical regime that has ruled the country for centuries. However, a protest movement did develop around a series of demands. Known as the “February 20 Movement,” this social mobilization of mostly young people prompted a swift response from King Mohamed VI in a March 9, 2011, speech that promised important reforms, including constitutional amendments; these were approved by referendum the following July 1. New parliamentary elections were immediately set and the moderate Islamist Party for Justice and Development (PJD) won the highest number of seats and was allowed to lead a coalition government for the first time. The outcome of this series of state responses, right in the middle of major social upheavals in the region, amounted to a relative pacification of the protest and an effective prevention of social explosion.
