Rabat – Amid France’s and Germany’s reinvigorated efforts to discredit Morocco’s growing influence, a German think tank’s report on Magrebi rivalry from 2020 has resurfaced, driving further the divide between the two sides of the conflict.
Isabelle Werenfels wrote the “Maghrebi Rivalries Over Sub‑Saharan Africa” report in 2020, for the German Institute for International & Security Affairs (SWP), a German think tank that regularly advises the Bundestag and the German government at large.
The report appears relatively neutral at the surface level. Deeper investigation however reveals doublespeak and implications not obvious at first, but ultimately typical for such Western publications. The report describes Morocco’s development as fueling “Algeria’s feeling of growing irrelevance,” and leaving Tunisia playing catch-up, as Werenfel highlights the suitable circumstances for the European Union to “put Morocco’s hegemonic ambitions in perspective.”
While the growing diplomatic rift between Germany and Morocco was already evident back in 2020, the state-aligned German think tank was stressing that the EU should treat the aforementioned developments “as an opportunity for African integration and triangular EU/Maghreb/Sub-Sahara cooperation.”
Reflecting Western interest in maintaining its economic, political, and social hegemony over much of the developing world, these organizations show a lack of care about the stability of the individual subjects. They are only interested in the benefits it can reap, and how to prevent the emergence of a new power independent of Western influence.
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The “European Union: Promote Positive Dynamics” chapter of the report is concerned with the EU’s ability to stabilise the Maghreb, “which would clearly be in the EU’s interest.” But such statements ignore the reality of the current Magrebi political landscape, namely Morocco’s already existing and long-standing stability, in addition to Algeria’s self-induced state of gradual collapse.
It must be noted that Werenfels, writing on her social media, has a “very weak spot” for Algeria. So within this context, a question emerges. Are the author’s recommendations to stabilize Maghreb sincere, or are they simply intended to limit the growth of the region’s fastest developing state while propping up a failing country with limited regional and international influence? Europe only serves to benefit when Morocco is tied to the rest of Maghreb – slowed by the other countries’ need to catch up, in the claws of some sort of EU-mandated “equalizer.”
Bleeding-hearts aside, Algeria shooting itself in the foot with isolationist policies and Tunisia’s ongoing struggle to balance its economy and democracy do not suggest a Maghreb in chaos — in need to be resuscitated by European policy makers and political actors. Neither does it suggest an opportunity for the EU to pillage the region and extend its power projection.
Instead, removing European ambitions from the picture and studying the region’s geopolitical situation reveals a far more nuanced and much less fractured situation.
For one, the rivalry between Morocco and the rest of the Maghreb is severely overstated, and while Rabat’s and Algiers’ split is historic, long-standing, and well documented, Morocco and Tunisia enjoy mostly stable, even deepening, ties. Just a few weeks ago, Rabat sent at least 12 military aircraft carrying medical supplies for COVID-19-stricken Tunisia, which were received with gratitude by the country’s leadership.
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In response to another obstacle, namely Europe’s diminishing influence over Africa, the report suggests now is the time to for “German and European economic and political actors to conceptualise their policies more strongly in terms of the continent as a whole, and specifically continental integration.”
Curiously, most of the unfounded suggestions on how to strengthen the Maghreb are aimed at Algeria and Tunisia, going as far as to call the two countries “stragglers.” This could be attributable to the fact that in itself, the sharing of expertise or different forms of infrastructural support by developed countries often come at the price of an increasingly strengthened Western sphere of influence.
“There is a great deal to gain geopolitically if Europe establishes itself as a dependable supporter of closer relations between North and Sub-Saharan Africa,” writes the author, ignoring Morocco’s efforts and gains in promoting and ensuring a growing South-South partnership.
In order to further benefit European hegemony, “this would slow the growth of openings for other external actors such as China, India, Turkey, and the Gulf states.” The proposed strategy completely sidelines the question whether a pragmatic, multilateral approach to diplomacy could ultimately benefit countries like Morocco and its populations. Additionally, it permanently shuts down any possibility of Maghrebi countries taking real decisions towards their own economies, instead of just further prolonging Europe’s colonial legacy.
