Twenty-fourth International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

Taking Morocco as a case study, my current research strives to deconstruct erroneous beliefs that divide the West and the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries into opposing camps. As Edward Said, founder of postcolonial studies, highlights, while the West tends to be viewed as the cradle of democracy, the Orient is perceived as despotic and fanatical. Advocating for the eradication of reductive stereotypes and for the pursuit of an inclusive democracy globally, my work demonstrates that authoritarianism and regressive interpretations of religion are geopolitical products, rather than cultural and religious fatalities. To do so, I analyze the mechanisms that led to the failure of the democratization projects during the first stages of modern state-building in Morocco (1955-1960). I examine new sources, including testimonies, newspaper clippings from that time, and documents from family archives. Adopting mixed subalternist approaches, I offer a corrective re-examination of concepts and key events conveyed by official historical sources. By revealing the struggles of citizens for democratization, my research shows that the Moroccan people worked with limited resources and took personal risks to democratize the power structures in the country. Conversely, the West contributed to the failure of movements for democratization in Morocco, among others by selling military equipment and mass surveillance infrastructures to the governing elite.