Shadi Hamid and Jeb Koogler (who blogs at Foreign Policy Watch and at The Moderate Voice) co-authored an interesting article for The American Prospect about the elections this year in Morocco. The results of the elections were suprising: many people had predicted that Morroco’s Justice and Development Party (PJD) would win. This party is the Islamist Party in Morocco (carrying the same name as the Islamist party in Turkey). The results, however, were different: not the PJD but the secular Istiqlal Party won. Although some have portrayed this as a defeat for the Islamists, which may spell trouble for Islamist parties in other Muslim countries, Shadi and Jeb believe that the results are not a sign of failure on the Islamists’ part, but a sign that democracy in Morocco is in trouble.
The US has, the couple writes, supported the democracy movement in Morocco and has encouraged Moroccan leaders to democratize their country. However, “on the ground is a different reality, one which U.S. policymakers are loathe to admit. In the past several years, genuine democratic reform has been limited, if not nonexistent, and there are few indications this will change. Ultimate authority in Morocco rests squarely with the monarchy,” Shadi and Jeb write. More, the Moroccan Parliament has little if any power. “The parliament itself has no jurisdiction over major areas like trade policy, foreign affairs, and national security. Historically, parliament has served mostly as a glorified debating forum.”
The two even go so far as to state that “Morocco’s process of political reform has been little more than a cynical charade designed to strengthen the monarchy’s grip on power.” The reforms in the 1990s which gave some the impression that Morocco was democratizing didn’t truly limit the power of the King: “the king maintained full control over most of the decision making, thereby ‘co-opting the two main opposition parties of long standing without being forced to give up any power or change policies’.” The authors explain that “this is what some scholars have referred to as ‘managed’ or ‘defensive’ democratization, whereby regimes implement risk-free, cosmetic reforms that give their citizens an outlet to vent but little more. By having elected parliaments and periodic elections, Arab dictatorships can deflect citizen demands, while getting the international legitimacy they crave.”
All in all, the two conclude that the elections last week may prove to be a turning point: “The greatest casualty is not political Islam but rather the image of a democratic oasis the Moroccan regime has worked so hard to create and that the United States has been more than willing to accept without question,” they write.
Although there is certainly some truth to what Shadi and Jeb write, I can’t say that they persuaded me that this development is - per definition - bad. They seem to assume that full democratization is in the interest of the Moroccan people, and in that of the West. The question whether or not this is true, however, remains. Their article - and their view on Middle Eastern policy - seems to be dictated or founded on an ideology that believes that democratization is a good thing. I’d argue against that, at least to a degree. I do not for one second believe that democratization is the cure for all ills and that every country in the world is ready for it and / or that democracy is good for every country. Not just that, one also has to ask the question how much one wants a regime to democratize. Full democracy? Partial democracy? Can every person above, say, 21 or 18 years old vote? Only men? Should it be dependent - for at least several decades - on income? If not, why not? If so, why?
These are the questions, these are the real questions that need to be answered. I don’t believe that full democracy is in Morocco’s best interest, nor in the best interest of the West. A large part of the Moroccan people is uneducated and socially extremely conservative (read strict, strict Muslims). They barely know how to take care of their own family. Should people like that be allowed to determine the fate of an entire country?
No, full democracy is not in Morocco’s interest. What the West should push for are: support for its own agenda and interests; resistence of terrorism and extremism; respect for human rights. We are best served with stability, not with Islamists ruling in the name of democracy.
Edited: No personal attacks allowed.
“…socially extremely conservative (read strict, strict Muslims).” Wrong. Do you have any reference to that?
Mr Van De Galien should perhaps look back to history and the dark ages … pre-French revolution and the amount of ignorance and lack of education tightly coupled with [strict strict religious beliefs] to perhaps look at his statements about these poor uneducated religious folks that do not deserve voting nor democracy. Democracies do not get built over night. Religion has nothing to do with it. In fact if Mr Van De Galien do little deep research …. The Koran promotes consensus building and participation in decision making. The prophet Mohammed had 12 sohaba’s (comrades one may translate) who debated decisions …
I do not believe that any human being would ever reject freedom of speech, education and opportunity.
De Galien should ask …. why are these people poor in teh first place and take a look at history a more recent history ti understand the real root causes. Stating that some group of people or religious entities should not allowed to vote or deserve democracy is pure exclusion.
Dear Michael van der Galiën:
Let me tell you, as a Moroccan, that you are misled and miss some basic facts about Morocco and its people.
1 - You’re calling Moroccans poorly educated, did you ever know what percentage of educated Moroccans are there? How many schools and institutes are there in the country? How many Americans and westerners, to mention only these, are studying in some Moroccan universities? How many Moroccan students are studying abroad? How many Fulbright scholars are undertaking research there? The list is quite long, and it is even ridiculous to have to point that out to someone living in the western world where information is easily available.
2 - You’re calling Moroccans overtly religious. The last time I checked, I only saw few rows of men and WOMEN in Moroccan mosques, except on Fridays. You are misled by the opinion polls and that is quite understandable. If Moroccans were overtly religious, there would be no Moroccan wine, beer, bars, veiled and unveiled women, and, unfortunately, prostitution. There would be no Moroccan women swimming with bikinis in the beaches or going to dancing clubs. There would be no women driving, flying planes, holding ministerial jobs, although the issue of women has nothing to do with religion. There would be no synagogues and churches. In every major town in Morocco, there is at least one church. What are you really talking about? Did you ever visit Morocco and open your eyes wide?
3 - You’re calling Moroccans anti-western. Again, you are misled by the opinion polls. Please visit Marrakech and Essaouira to see how many westerns are living among Muslims in peace and buying riads in the old quarter of the medina and outside of it. Go to Tangier, Agadir, and Casablanca and see whether as a westerner, you would feel at any minute threatened, even in the most remote areas of the country.
4 - Poverty is widespread even in the western world where we live. There are people begging in the capital, brandishing signs, such as “we’ll work for food” and the like, and others barely making ends meet.
5 - A friendly note: Morocco was the first country to recognize the US as an independent state. The oldest US treaty of friendship is with Morocco; the oldest building that US owns outside of continental US is in Tangier, gift from the Moroccan monarch, Mohammed ben Abdallah in the eighteen century.
6 - Please remember to respond to me either in Arabic or Berber, because I am an uneducated Morocan.
[...] a week ago, I published a post in response to an article at the American Prospect written by two blogging friends, Shadi Hamid and [...]