Morocco: History, Government & Society

Morocco is a monarchy-led, diplomatically agile state whose foreign policy is organized around one overriding objective: consolidating international support for Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara while preserving access to European, Gulf, and U.S. partners Kingdom of Morocco Constitution of 2011, U.S. Department of State Bilateral Relations Fact Sheet: Morocco, African Union member profile: Kingdom of Morocco. Formally it is a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy, but in practice King Mohammed VI remains the decisive actor on strategic foreign and security policy, while Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch heads the government formed after the National Rally of Independents won the 2021 legislative election Kingdom of Morocco Constitution of 2011, Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Reuters, “Morocco election winner Akhannouch appointed prime minister”.

The current government is led by Akhannouch’s National Rally of Independents in coalition with the Authenticity and Modernity Party and the Istiqlal Party, a configuration assembled after the September 2021 vote and still framing policy ahead of the next legislative contest Reuters, “Morocco election winner Akhannouch appointed prime minister”, Encyclopaedia Britannica, National Rally of Independents, Morocco House of Representatives. Decision-making is not evenly shared: the palace sets the line on Western Sahara, relations with Algeria, Israel, the Gulf monarchies, and major African diplomacy, while the cabinet manages implementation, economic reform, and day-to-day external engagement Kingdom of Morocco Constitution of 2011, European Council on Foreign Relations, “Morocco’s selective foreign policy”. For MUN purposes, that means Morocco usually presents itself as a moderate, pro-stability partner, but its flexibility narrows quickly when a file touches territorial integrity or perceived challenges to monarchical authority U.S. Department of State Bilateral Relations Fact Sheet: Morocco, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, “Morocco’s Western Sahara Strategy”.

Morocco’s place in the world today is larger than its raw size would suggest because it has built relevance across several theaters at once. It is an Arab monarchy with close Gulf ties, a major non-NATO ally of the United States, a near-shore industrial and security partner for Europe, and an increasingly active investor and diplomatic player in West Africa and the Sahel-facing space The White House, Presidential Proclamation on Recognizing the Sovereignty of the Kingdom of Morocco over the Western Sahara, NATO, Major Non-NATO Ally Status, World Bank Morocco Overview, African Development Bank, Morocco Economic Outlook. Rabat uses that position to market itself as a bridge between Europe and Africa and between Western and Arab partners, but it also pursues selective alignment rather than bloc discipline, shown by its normalization with Israel under the 2020 Abraham Accords while maintaining strong rhetorical support for Palestinian statehood U.S. Department of State, Abraham Accords Declaration, Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Economically, Morocco is diversified by regional standards but still exposed to rainfall, imported energy, and European demand. The World Bank estimated GDP at about $145 billion in current U.S. dollars in 2023, with growth supported by industry and services but constrained by drought shocks World Bank Data: GDP (current US$), Morocco, World Bank Morocco Overview. The country’s export model rests on automobiles, phosphates and fertilizers, agriculture, textiles, and a growing aerospace base, while tourism and remittances remain major foreign-exchange earners Observatory of Economic Complexity, Morocco, Office des Changes, World Bank Morocco Overview. That mix gives Morocco more resilience than a single-commodity economy, but it also means domestic stability is tightly linked to food prices, water scarcity, job creation, and uninterrupted trade links with the EU, its largest commercial partner European Commission, Trade and Investment Relations with Morocco, African Development Bank, Morocco Economic Outlook.

Three issues define Morocco’s current trajectory. The first is Western Sahara, which sits at the top of the state’s interests pyramid as a territorial-integrity and regime-legitimacy issue; Rabat measures bilateral relationships increasingly by whether partners endorse, or at least do not obstruct, its autonomy plan UN Security Council Resolution 2756 (2024), Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The second is managed geopolitical balancing: Morocco wants