Civil-Military Relations in Morocco: Revisiting the Internatinal Factor
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This article examines the extent to which Albert Legault’s democratic model of civil-military relations is applicable to Morocco through the action of international institutions as a vehicle for democratization. It does not deny the role of those institutions in triggering the current transition to democracy, but assumes that their role was less effective with regard to democratic control of the armed forces. The article proposes that such control presupposes a democratic governmental structure, a true multiparty system, media freedom and respect of human rights. As solid and irreversible democratization takes hold in Morocco, it will be seen as necessary to establish a democratic civil-military relations model and thus confine the army to its traditional role in a democratic society.Brahim Saïdy, Ph.D student in political science, is a junior lecturer at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). He worked in the Ministry of the International Relations of Quebec and was a research assistant to the Institut québécois des hautes études internationales (IQHEI).