ABSTRACT
Steps toward meaningful political reform in the Arab world have stalled, blocked by official changes of heart about the merit of representative democracy in stemming the tide of rising popular disaffection and violent extremism. To be sure, support for democratic principles by the region’s rulers has always been ambivalent at best. It is hard to believe that any authoritarian ruler would willingly agree to implement genuine change, which would necessarily entail fair elections and constitutional reforms that dilute executive power and empower legislative and judicial branches of government. Even King Mohamed VI of Morocco, well known for his penchant for reforms and repeated rhetorical calls for embracing modernity and democracy, has shown no real taste for the diffusion of power, the structural base of any democratic polity. Despite evidence of liberalization and the king’s stated noble motivations, the Moroccan political system lacks any meaningful framework of checks and balances.
