ABSTRACT
Colonial borders are arbitrary yet sacrosanct. This dictum lies at the heart of the Western Sahara conflict. On the one hand, there is the sacrosanct right of self-determination that grounds Western Saharan nationalism. On the other hand, there are arbitrary colonial boundaries that have engendered Moroccan irredentism. Nationalism and irredentism are the two ideas that lie at the heart of the dispute between the Kingdom of Morocco and Sahrawi nationalists over Western Sahara. Their apparent irreconcilability has given rise to what is now one of Africa’s oldest conflicts over what has become Africa’s last official colony.
