Notables, clientelism and the politics of change in Morocco

摘要

Morocco's political party landscape has long been one of the most dynamic in the Arab region. Parties have led intense periods of opposition and played an instrumental role in the independence movement. Rather than acting as agents for change and development, however, most parties today are little more then loose alliances of elites dominated by patron-client relations. Building on the literature on Moroccan political culture, I will use the role of notables in Moroccan politics as a touchstone for demonstrating the primacy of clientelism and personalism over ideology and institutions in Moroccan politics. The bulk of this article will be devoted to two case studies analysing (a) the role of notables in the 2007 legislative elections, and (b) the creation of the new Party for Authenticity and Modernity by the king's close friend, Fouad Ali El Himma. Together, these cases will show the resilience of notables as a means to securing support and representation, as well as the ways in which new initiatives reproduce dominant patterns of behaviour under varying contexts. Finally, a concluding discussion will question whether political reform is likely to come from parties or the parliament at all. Specific attention will be given to the incentive structures influencing the behaviour of political elites.View full textDownload full textKeywordsnotables, patron-client relations, political culture, elitesRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13629380903175438