Partisan diplomacy missing in Morocco's advocacy on Western Sahara

Perhaps what is most striking in the analysis of Morocco's efforts in recent years to defend its position on the Western Sahara at the global level is the seeming absence of parliamentary and partisan diplomacy in promoting the Moroccan autonomy plan.

An example of the failure of Moroccan parliamentary diplomacy is the recent recognition of Chilean parliament of the so-called Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).

While Moroccan diplomacy has fervently defended its national position on all fronts, whether at the multilateral or bilateral levels, most Moroccan political parties are still in deep hibernation on the subject - with a few notable exceptions.

This happens at a time when Moroccan political parties, especially leftist parties, know very well that the majority of governments that support the Polisario are of leftist and radical backgrounds.

Moroccans had to wait for the speech delivered by King Mohamed VI at the opening of the autumn session of parliament in October 2014 to see some parties - some from the opposition and others not represented in the parliament - to take initiatives to play their roles in partisan diplomacy.

It would be delusional to think Morocco would be in a position to win all the diplomatic battles it engages in without the active participation of civil society and political parties. If Morocco had political parties with clear vision and strategy towards open dialogue with the leftist political parties of countries that sympathise with the Polisario, it would have succeeded in convincing some of them - especially in Latin America - to reconsider their stances on the conflict, or at least to prevent the Polisario from making new breakthroughs.  

In light of recent developments, and the determination of Algeria and the Polisario to mobilise support in Latin America, it is now incumbent upon Moroccan political parties to let go of their empty slogans and hollow language, and unleash all of their potential to approach their Latin American counterparts - which traditionally oppose Morocco's position on the Sahara - in order to convince them to reconsider their positions.

This objective cannot be achieved through sporadic visits to Latin America, but rather through the creation of permanent and active channels of communication, the intensification of exchange visits, the organisation of seminars and lectures in the parliaments and universities of these countries, and a presence in their media.

The best - and only - way to make these efforts successful and meaningful is to utilise the right people; those who truly know the multiple facets of the conflict, including its legal, historical, political, and economic aspects. These people should also have a great command of the Spanish language and be familiar with the cultures, histories, and political systems of Latin American countries.

What Morocco truly needs today, more than ever, is not political parties or personalities whose concern is to make short visits; visits that often have little or no impact on the position of the countries they visit.

Morocco needs political parties and leaders who have clear-cut goals and well-thought-out work plans, and who work to achieve them through initiatives that promote Morocco's positions and the efforts it has been making to put an end to the conflict.

Mounib's diplomatic moves eventually resulted in Stockholm's decision to put recognition on the backburner

Lessons learned from Sweden

The tension between Morocco and Sweden last autumn, as a result of Stockholm's intention to recognise the SADR, has proved beyond any doubt the pivotal role partisan diplomacy can play.

During the short-lived friction, Moroccans witnessed how Nabila Mounib, the secretary-general of the Unified Socialist Party, succeeded in easing the conflict between Morocco and the leftist Swedish government and building bridges of mutual trust between the two parties. Mounib's diplomatic moves eventually resulted in Stockholm's decision to put recognition on the backburner.

While it is not possible to determine whether Nabila Mounib's talks with Swedish officials were directly behind the Swedish government's decision, one can argue that Mounib played an important role in convincing the Swedish government to listen to Morocco's concerns and to take them into consideration, which ultimately spared the two countries a diplomatic crisis.

Communication with Podemos

Morocco should build on this experience and draw lessons on how to deal with countries where the Polisario enjoys support, such as Spain. In recent years, Podemos has emerged as a strong radical leftist party whose leaders have expressed direct support for the Polisario on many occasions.

The high-profile status that this party now enjoys highlights the urgent need for Moroccan leftist parties to open communication channels with it.

Podemos' presence in the Spanish parliament as its third-largest political party will enable it to put pressure on the future Spanish government by systematically bringing up the conflict over the Sahara and overtly adopting the Polisario's stance.

It is very likely that Podemos will make impassioned calls on the Spanish government to recognise the SADR. Despite the fact that these manoeuvres will not yield the expected results, they could, however, strain relations between Rabat and Madrid - and provide moral support to the separatists.

Additionally, Podemos may also launch political and media campaigns to challenge the agreements between Morocco and the European Union, especially with regards to fishing and Morocco's eligibility to grant Europe licenses to fish in the territorial waters under its sovereignty off the Western Sahara.

At a time when the Moroccan government is striving to strengthen its relations with Spain, it should also strengthen its presence in Spanish media and academia to educate the Spanish public about Rabat's position and the merits of its autonomy plan, in order to counterbalance the efforts made by the Polisario to demonise Morocco.

Moroccan political parties should draw lessons from the experience of Nabila Mounib

Such efforts, however, will not succeed unless Moroccan political parties, especially the leftist parties, assume their full role. Moroccan leftist parties should adapt to the new political reality in Spain.

Instead of the empty chair policy they have adopted thus far, they should try to build channels of permanent communication with the Spanish leftist parties, especially with Podemos. These moves could ultimately soften the party's positions towards Morocco and avoid it becoming the "spokesperson" of the Polisario in Spain.

Moroccan political parties should draw lessons from the experience of Nabila Mounib, which showed the complementary role political parties could play to back up Rabat's official diplomacy and build bridges between governments led by leftist parties and Morocco.

Yet this partisan diplomacy should not be occasional. Instead, it should be implemented throughout the year based on a clear strategy. Morocco's opponents are working tirelessly to mobilise support for their position the world over.

Therefore, Moroccan political parties should remain constantly vigilant to help their country win the diplomatic battles it will fight in the future. The road towards winning the media and diplomatic war Algeria and the Polisario are waging against Morocco is still strenuous.

Therefore, the mobilisation should be global with the involvement of all stakeholders who can help promote and strengthen the Moroccan position and pave the way towards achieving a mutually political solution to the Western Sahara conflict.


Samir Bennis is a political analyst. He received a Ph.D. in international relations from the University of Provence in France and his research areas include relations between Morocco and Spain and between the Muslim world and the West, as well as the global politics of oil.