Documentos CIDOB Mediterráneo, n.º 7

In view of the elections in Morocco set for September 2007 and the growing importance of the Justice and Development Party (PJD) in Moroccan political and social life, in a similar way to that of other reformist or moderate Islamist parties which, since the mid-1980s, have become central political actors in different Arab and Muslim countries, this document considers the influence that this new group, which has been called “original” or “atypical” by some, could exert on the country’s foreign policy. Through a review of the history and evolution of a parliamentary group that is attracting the attention of journalists and scholars inside and outside of the country, it presents an analysis of its priorities in foreign policy, underscoring its aspects of convergence and divergence with the regime of Mohammed VI. The reality of a dual pragmatic and populist discourse, which combines elements like the defence of an identity which is not very distant from the tradition of the Moroccan monarchy and the Moroccan nationalist movement, along with an ambiguous request for constitutional reform, does not allow it to be seen as a real alternative to the values and practices of the official discourse in the area of foreign policy.

Irene Fernández Molina, pre-doctoral researcher in the Department of International Public Law and International Relations (International Studies), Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

ISSN: 1696-9979 (print edition)
ISSN: 1887-1801 (online edition)

91 pp.