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Select a member state of the African Union. To what extent do…

- - - - In Morocco this situation was no different, although demands made towards the political eleites focused soely on political reforms and stayed away from demands of regime change (al-Akhssassi, 2017, pp483-484).
        
        The reforms made by the monarchy following these protests signaled that political change and importanly democractistion was begining to develop slowly (Belkeziz, 2012).
        
        However, since these reforms have been passed there has been a concerted effort by the monarchy to prevent real entrenchment of democracy through a continued crackdown on the free media across the country and the victory of the monarchy in its power struggles with parliament.
- - - - His account of flaws of liberal democracy are deeply flawed as it is pinned to the idea of a universal western, liberal democratic system (Ake, 1993, p240). From this idea he goes on to argue that African states can not fit this universal model as their societies differ so greatly from that of Europe (Ake, 1993, pp242-243).
    - - In Democracy and its critics Robert Dahl argues for a set of critieria from which the democracy of a state can be tested with these being: effective partiicpation, voting equality, enlightened understnading (i.e. voters having access to information), control of the agenda (i.e. soverignty of the people) (Dahal, 1989). These critieria offer countries a wide range of policies to be implemented and remain considered a democracy.
      - Meanwhile Terence Cuneo and Nicholass Wolterstorff argue that for a system to be democractic all adult citizens must have access to equal politic voice in a constitutional context (2012). For this to be properly enabled this requires the existence of functioning inistutuitions like a free press so that those involved in politics are able to make rational nd educated decisions (Wolterstrorff and Cuneo, 2012)
        
        Combined these two arguements provide a useful outline to what a democratic system must look like. This form of liberal democracy requires everyone involved has access to a free media, are equal in their decision-making and are able to engage in politics effectively.
        
        This requires us to look at both substantive forms of democracy and the norms that are at play in the system to.
- - - - The formal powers of the king enshrined in the constitution of 2002 where extensive. Article 106 made it unconstitutional to change the system of monarchy or change the position of Islam, the king was granted extensive powers to appoint the judicary and half of the constitutional council, the king had full powers to apppoint and preside over government and it was unconstitutional to insult the king (Anon, 2002).
        
        These powers were enhanced by a string of informal powers that created a powerful system of goverence focused around the royal palace (Boukhars, 2010). This system of screate, eleite governemnt would be called the makhzen and constittuted effectivly a deep state.
        
        These informal powers coalesced around the importance of te king in the day to day politics of the country. Although nominally free to vote as they wish parliamentarians understood that if they acted against the kings wishes they could be found to be I breach of article 106 (Boukhars, 2010). This demonstrates the king's ability to exercise legislative powers outside his own formal powers by preasuring parliament to stick to the royal line.
      - Freedom of the press in the country was very weak before the Arab Spring. Although the constition provided freedom of opion and expression in Article 9 (Anon, 2002), these were rights that were not realised. The press were allowed to critise the governemnt, however, broad laws defending the king and Islam, as well as punishing flase informationmeant the governemnt could easily attack the opposition press (HRW, 2009, pp500-501).
    - - The new constitution entrenched a range of rights that provided citizens equality under the law, freedom of speech, association and opinion (Ruchti, 2012). These reforms included eshrining the freedom of the press and people's access to this media in the constitution (Richti, 2012). The powers of the king were reduced as greater power was granted t elected officials other the creation of government (Sadiki and Bouandel, 2016).
        
        These reforms would form the groundwork on which a discussion of democratisation must occur. it is whether the reforms enacted in 2011 have, by 2025, led to greater inclusion of the people in the legislative process and empowered the freedom of the press.
        
        Despite these reforms internation bodies that assess democracy remain spcetical about the status of Moroccan democracy with neither the EIU or Freedom House ranking it as a full democracy in 2025.
- - - - The constitution
        
        On the surface there has been reforms to the operation of Moroccan politics with the ratification of a new constitution in 2012 (Ruchti, 2012).
        
        These reforms have been seen as to expand the powers of parliament and make the institution a more important element of the political landscape (al-Akhssassi, 2017). These reforms led to the election winners having controlmover the appointment of most cabinet position (the soverign minsitries remained) and powers over dissolving parliament (Sadiki and Bouandel, 2016).
        
        This expansion of legal powers can be seen as part of Morocco's transition towards a more democratic system, and as al-Akhssassi argues the reforms are part of the country's transition from a constitutional monarchy towards a pariamentry monarchy (2017).
        
        However, constitutional democratistion and reforms to how parliament operates is has only created superfical democratistion. These reforms remain very weak and it os hard to see in the decade since that there has been progress on people having soverignty or equal political voice.
        
        The post-Arab Spring constitution remains in place and has not been amended to further democratistion and protect parliament from the ability for democracy to be undermined.
        
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      - The makhzen
        
        The sitution of democracy is futher undermined by the long running problem of the makhzen system in Morocco and the exesitiencce of a royalist deep state.
        
        This system has been a long running element of Morocaan politics. Through the mahkzen system the monarchy relies on clientistic relationships, ceorcian and patronage to control politics without directly acting (Daadaoui, 2011).
        
        The governemnt implements these methods in a rnage of ways. Clientstic relationships have been devleoped with the political parties of Morocco who understnad that the political landscape of the country and access to power lies in the ability to get close to the royal palace (Maghraoui, 2020). This forces them to appease the monarch, find allies in the palace and take every action to tie themselves into the monarchy as secodnary to the king (Maghraoui, 2020).
        
        Ceorcrian is used through constitutional means. Article 46 of the constitution establishes the king as sacred and due respect and Article 7 prohibits action against Islam, the monarchy and the state (Ruchti, 2012). These definitions, however, are extremly broad and the king has used the threat that actions taken against the will of the king may be seen as actions against the king (Boukhars, 2010). This enables the palace to ensure that politicians vote the right way without them having to directly intervene in the legislative process.
        
        Finally the powers of patronage are closely linked to the clientlistic relationship that the king has with political parties. Access to power is only granted to those that the palace desies to have access to power (Maghraoui, 2020). When the PJD were able to win the 2011 elections this was seen as unprecented, but their victory was helped by the king's realisition that it would be better for the moderate Islamists to gain ground then more radical opotions (Sadiki and Bouandel, 2016)..
        
        When the PJD began to turn against the palace's positions, as they did when they opposed the decision to purusue normalistion with Israel, the palace began conspiring to remove them from power (Joffe, 2021). This manourving certainly worked as the party went on to loose 86 seats in 2021 election (https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2021/09/55256/rni-sweeps-2021-national-elections-as-pjd-support-disintegrates/#google_vignette).
        
        All three of these operations work together to undermine the democratic institutions of the state and enhance the powers of the king. In this regard there is a definete undermining of democracy. People do not have soverignty as the outcomes of elections are less improtant then which major political parties have close ties to the palace and equal political voice does not exist as those with links to the king have their voice disprortionality empowered.
- - - - The new constitution kept the techincal protections for the media that the 2002 constitution provided through Article 25 and Article 28 (Ruchti, 2012).
        
        However, these protections were very limited and the government found easy methods to avoid having to abide by them.
        
        These limitations have been provided through the three red lines that prevent any critism of God, the king or the homeland (Souiaia, 2007), these protections are deemed so improtant that they are enshrined in the constitution (Ruchti, 2012).
        
        These protectiosn of the state are extended further with it being illegal to publish anything that could distrub the public or damage the moral of the army (Law Libary of Congress, 2020).
        
        Can talk about similarities with Tunisia and new laws that have contuined the repression of the press despite constitutional garuntees (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tiZZwVvShU3x1Te-3HaiCUirPnGHsMhYVHbWqpGEAA0/edit?tab=t.0).
        
        Alongside legal limitations of the press the governemnt have devleoped practices that enable them to punish the press when they displease the palace, but do not break the law (Cohen, 2021). These resolve around false accusations against journalists of rape, sex traffecking and defamation that enable the government to imprison and threaten journalists implicitly (Cohen, 2021, p588).
        
        Here, we can see the contitution of the makhzen system and behind-the-scenes control of the monarchy. Although they provide themselves a wide range of powers to curb the press, behind the scence action enables them to surpress any media that does not cross the legal red lines, but crosses the palace's red lines.
      - The dual system of repression has been repteadly enforced by the governemnt since 2011. In 2014 the government arrested a rapper after he critised the police and corruption, whilist in 2024 the governemnt contuined its policy of targeting the press for crimes of sexual abuse (HRW, 2015 and HRW, 2025).
        
        These policies have meant that press freedoms have made no advancement from 2002, despite constitutional garuntees were present before the Arab Spring. Reporters Without Borders continue to rank Morocco exceptionally poorly in regards to press freedom placing it in 120th out of 180, although this is the third best in the region in the Middle East and North Africa, this position globally places it 36th in the rankings in Africa (Reporters Without Borders, 2025).
        
        Governemnt policy clearly undermines press freedoms and the government show no interest in ensuring that a free press can educate the public on government policy and politics. This infringes on the ideas of Democracy and its critics which insits that a free media is one of the crtieria for democracy (Dahl, 1989).
- - - - Combined, this significatily undermines the process of democratisition as it leaves reforms of the constitution meaningless compared to the lived epxereinces of the political system. Instead of the post Arab Spring era being a time of contuinous political reform in Morocco, there were some brief reforms that suggested democractistion, but once the energy from the protests diserpated the monarchy worked to reassert its authroity.