From Assistance to Partnership: Morocco and its Foreign Policy in West Africa

This monograph focuses on the geopolitical and economic drivers for the renewed Moroccan interest in West Africa, and examines how Morocco is conducting its foreign and security policies in a variety of Western African countries. It highlights Morocco's contribution to counterextremism in West Africa and Sahel regions through the provision of training to the imams and preachers of African Mosques. It concludes with recommendations on how Morocco could be supported by the U.S. defense community to mutual benefit, tackling some of the key security challenges that are facing these sub-regions of Africa. Given the common interest between the United States and Morocco in preserving peace and stability in Morocco's surrounding region, Rabat's growing assertiveness in West Africa presents an opportunity, not a challenge, for U.S. interests. Morocco's geographic location, political stability, and deep and long-standing cultural ties with sub-Saharan states provide a potential bridgehead for U.S. efforts to promote its security objectives in Africa. At a time of severe defense budget constraints, bilateral cooperation with reliable and moderate regional partners can provide an effective multiplier and augment the U.S. reach into otherwise challenging regions.


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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

MOHAMMED EL-KATIRI is a Director of MENA Insight, a political risk consultancy that focuses on the Middle East and North Africa, and a Senior Research Analyst at the United Kingdom's (UK) Conflict Studies Research Centre (CSRC). Before joining CSRC, Dr. El-Katiri was a Research Fellow at the UK Defence Academy, and later served as a Political Risk Analyst
at Eurasia Group and as a senior researcher at the Hague Institute for Global Justice. With more than 10 years of regional experience, his research interests include political and economic security in North Africa and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, as well as North African relations with the European Union (EU), and security policies around the Mediterranean.
Dr. El-Katiri has published numerous internal and external UK Defence Academy reports, including reference papers on national and regional security issues in the GCC and the Mediterranean, and a monograph on the Algerian national oil and gas company Sonatrach. In addition, his publications include commentaries and research papers in a range of languages for research organizations in the UK and Europe, as well as various newspaper articles in and about the region. Dr. El-Katiri is a frequent commentator in media including the British Broadcasting Company (BBC), the Financial Times, and Al-Jazeera.