Abdeslam M. Maghraoui, a Moroccan political scientist, is a visiting professor in the department of politics at Princeton University. Previously, he was a research fellow at Princeton’s Transregional Institute and taught Middle East politics at Georgetown University and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
Morocco’s new king, Mohamed VI, has two alternatives: He can invent a new “ruling bargain,” prolonging his father’s authoritarian rule in a new guise, or he can spearhead serious political reforms.
Since the 1950s, Morocco has engaged in reforms that have established a relatively open political and economic system, but democracy has not gained much in the bargain.
