Shadi Hamid and I have a piece out at The American Prospect today on the recent Moroccan elections and, more broadly, about American democracy-promotion. We note that while Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has been held up as an example of an “enlightened monarch” leading his country towards economic and political progress, the reality on the ground is much different. Here’s a teaser:
In 2004-5, with landmark elections in Iraq, Lebanon, and Egypt, observers heralded what would come to be known as the “Arab Spring.” Even as spring turned to winter, and hopes of a democratic transformation dimmed, Morocco appeared a lone bright spot in a region once again losing its way.
King Mohammed VI, Western-educated and refined, was a visionary, American officials believed, and was boldly moving his country toward economic and political progress. In a 2006 trip to Casablanca, Undersecretary of State Karen Hughes called Morocco an “important model for the wider region” and a country “at the forefront” of political reform. Since 2004, the U.S. has rewarded Morocco by tripling economic aid. On Aug. 31, in a move that received little fanfare at home, the United States agreed to grant Morocco $700 million over five years through the Millennium Challenge Account, one of the last remaining relics of the Bush administration’s “freedom agenda.”
But on the ground is a different reality, one which U.S. policymakers are loathe to admit.