L’Année du Maghreb (Oct 2009)

S’opposer au Maghreb

  • Thierry Desrues,
  • Miguel Hernando de Larramendi

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4000/anneemaghreb.483
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 5
pp. 7 – 36

Abstract

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Twenty years ago the central states of the Maghreb – Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia – initiated political reforms which would have legitimized the problem of change. Since then, the proliferation of political actors and electoral fields has become a favourite government technique for regime survival who by these techniques hope to engage opponents in a political game where power is not at risk. In such a context, the opposition may take various forms including partisan, syndicated, associative or protestant. Protest movements may in fact arise out of a spirit of individuality, even if the objective is to generate collective action. But in an authoritarian context, the first difficulty lies in recruiting political actors and by extension, mobilizing the opposition. The various areas where action unfolds are themselves indicative of the different forms of opposition and indeed, political protest is channelled through parliament, university campuses, mosques, public areas and cyberspace.

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