The Emergence Of Nationalist Politics In Morocco

The end of World War II intensified Morocco's nationalist struggle against French colonial rule, with the establishment of the Istiqlal ('independence') party and the Moroccan Sultan's emergence as a national leader. In this book, Daniel Zisenwine charts the rise of Morocco's leading nationalist party, and illustrates the weakness of Moroccan political parties at the outset of the anti-colonial struggle. While Morocco today faces formidable challenges, its political system remains profoundly influenced by the events charted in this book. Drawing from a wide range of previously unpublished sources, Daniel Zisenwine presents the background to the Istiqlal's establishment, its initial actions and demands, and an extensive discussion of its social activities aimed at mobilizing the Moroccan public during the anti-colonial struggle.

The end of World War II intensified Morocco's nationalist struggle against French colonial rule, with the establishment of the Istiqlal ('independence') party and the Moroccan Sultan's emergence as a national leader. In this book, Daniel Zisenwine charts the rise of Morocco's leading nationalist party, and illustrates the weakness of Moroccan political parties at the outset of the anti-colonial struggle. While Morocco today faces formidable challenges, its political system remains profoundly influenced by the events charted in this book. Drawing from a wide range of previously unpublished sources, Daniel Zisenwine presents the background to the Istiqlal's establishment, its initial actions and demands, and an extensive discussion of its social activities aimed at mobilizing the Moroccan public during the anti-colonial struggle.

How to develop new forms of political expression and political participation on the national level is one of the major problems facing newly independent countries. Mr. Ashford gives a careful description of the pattern of Moroccan national politics at the time of independence, and analyzes how this pattern was changed during the first three post-independence years. He provides a general outline of the ways a widely differentiated people can participate in the national politics of a developing country. Like Apter's books on Ghana and Uganda, and Wriggins’ book on Ceylon, this is an important study of the transition to independence of a postwar, rapidly developing political system. Originally published in 1961. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

"There is no question that the value of a detailed account of Moroccan colonial history in English is an important addition to the field, and Wyrtzen's book will undoubtedly become a reference for Moroccan, North African, and Middle Eastern historians alike." ―American Historical Review Jonathan Wyrtzen's Making Morocco is an extraordinary work of social science history. Making Morocco’s historical coverage is remarkably thorough and sweeping; the author exhibits incredible scope in his research and mastery of an immensely rich set of materials from poetry to diplomatic messages in a variety of languages across a century of history. The monograph engages with the most important theorists of nationalism, colonialism, and state formation, and uses Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory as a framework to orient and organize the socio-historical problems of the case and to make sense of the different types of problems various actors faced as they moved forward. His analysis makes constant reference to core categories of political sociology state, nation, political field, religious and political authority, identity and social boundaries, classification struggles, etc., and he does so in exceptionally clear and engaging prose. Rather than sidelining what might appear to be more tangential themes in the politics of identity formation in Morocco, Wyrtzen examines deeply not only French colonialism but also the Spanish zone, and he makes central to his analysis the Jewish question and the role of gender. These areas of analysis allow Wyrtzen to examine his outcome of interest—which is really a historical process of interest—from every conceivable analytical and empirical angle. The end-product is an absolutely exemplary study of colonialism, identity formation, and the classification struggles that accompany them. This is not a work of high-brow social theory, but a classic work of history, deeply influenced but not excessively burdened by social-theoretical baggage.

This book compares the relatively peaceful relationship between the Berbers and the Moroccan state with the violent relationship between the Kurds and the Turkish state.

Culture and politics in Morocco are an interactive blend of conflict and congruence. John P. Entelis argues that no single form defines Morocco's national identity and identifies four cultural patterns--monarchial, modernist, militarist, and messianic--that compete with each other yet share strong ties to an overriding cultural core of 'Muslim consensus'. This consensus explains much of the country's success in reconciling cultural differences in a relatively nonviolent manner and in creating a pluralistic, open and populist society. Entelis argues that Morocco, at a critical juncture in its postindependence history, may be able to overcome challenges from international pressures and socioeconomic problems because of its cultural harmony. Previously published in 1989 by Westview Press.

The book is one of the many studies published by Princeton on the Near East and conforms to the high standards of quality and style of other Princeton publications. It is well written and presents a clear understanding of the politics in Morocco, Tunisia, and Pakistan and their changing political patterns since their independence from French and British colonialism. The book, as others written by the same author on Morocco and Tunisia, is the outcome of his intense research and travel in these countries. The author, as a political scientist, is engaged in research at the micro level: the political problems at the local level in the developing countries and their impact on development. The study stimulates some interesting thoughts and provides new dimensions to the problem of general development. During the past few years the reader interested in the general development of emerging countries has been overwhelmed with a vast amount of reading material, which, in the reviewer's judgment, is more likely to con fuse a clear analysis of problems of development. The problem is so complex that it is hard to discern any common ground in the different approaches adopted by different authors. Political scientists, sociologists, and economists all exhibit their own professional bias in their approaches by the lack of recognition of some of the significant contributions in related areas. So the study of national development, in the reviewer's opinion, is becoming similar to a group of blind men setting out to find the truth about an elephant, each by touching one limb of the animal and making some generalizations. -- from http://www.jstor.org (August 26, 2011).

Moroccan Jews can trace their heritage in Morocco back 2000 years. In French Protectorate Morocco (1912-56) there was a community of over 200,000 Jews, but today only a small minority remains. This book writes Morocco's rich Jewish heritage back into the protectorate period. The book explains why, in the years leading to independence, the country came to construct a national identity that centered on the Arab-Islamic notions of its past and present at the expense of its Jewish history and community. The book provides analysis of the competing nationalist narratives that played such a large part in the making of Morocco's identity at this time: French cultural-linguistic assimilation, Political Zionism, and Moroccan nationalism. It then explains why the small Jewish community now living in Morocco has become a source of national pride. At the heart of the book are the interviews with Moroccan Jews who lived during the French Protectorate, remain in Morocco, and who can reflect personally on everyday Jewish life during this era. Combing the analysis of the interviews, archived periodicals, colonial documents and the existing literature on Jews in Morocco, Kristin Hissong's book illuminates the reality of this multi-ethnic nation-state and the vital role memory plays in its identity.