The Western Sahara And The Frontiers Of Morocco

The Sahara has long been portrayed as a barrier that divides the Mediterranean world from Africa proper and isolates the countries of the Maghrib from their southern and eastern neighbors. Rather than viewing the desert as an isolating barrier, this volume takes up historian Fernand Braudel's description of the Sahara as "the second face of the Mediterranean." The essays recast the history of the region with the Sahara at its center, uncovering a story of densely interdependent networks that span the desert's vast expanse. They explore the relationship between the desert's "islands" and "shores" and the connections and commonalities that unite the region. Contributors draw on extensive ethnographic and historical research to address topics such as trade and migration; local notions of place, territoriality, and movement; Saharan cities; and the links among ecological, regional, and world-historical approaches to understanding the Sahara.

Western Sahara is a disputed territory located in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, and Mauritania to the east and south. The territory was colonized by Spain in the late 19th century and was known as Spanish Sahara until the 1970s. After Spain withdrew in 1975, Morocco and Mauritania claimed the territory as their own, sparking a war that lasted until 1991. Today, Morocco administers most of the territory, while the Polisario Front, a separatist group backed by Algeria, controls the remaining areas. The United Nations has been involved in the conflict since the 1990s, attempting to negotiate a peaceful settlement between the two parties. The population of Western Sahara is estimated to be around 600,000, with most living in areas controlled by Morocco. The majority of the population are Sahrawis, an indigenous group that has been fighting for independence from Moroccan rule. The dispute over the territory's sovereignty has been ongoing for decades, with the Polisario Front calling for a referendum to determine the territory's fate. However, Morocco has rejected the proposal, stating that the territory is an integral part of their kingdom. The conflict has resulted in displacement of thousands, as well as human rights abuses and restrictions on freedom of expression.

A comprehensive history of Western Sahara--an arid land bordering Morocco in the north, Algeria in the northeast, Mauritania in the east and the south, and the Atlantic coastline in the west--bitterly contested since 1975 by Morocco and the guerrillas of the Polisario Front. This edition of the Dictionary updates and supplements the first edition of 1982. Some 700 alphabetical entries range from major personalities, political movements, wars, and treaties to places, ethnic groups, and economic resources, with extensive entries on the OAU and the UN. Includes an introduction, map, detailed chronology, chart of tribal and ethnic groups, and heavily augmented bibliography. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This book gives a comprehensive background to the long running conflict on the status of Western Sahara and particularly highlights the question of the territory’s natural resources, such as fish, oil and phosphates. The book analyzes why this territory, (mainly covered by desert and only sparsely populated), has since 1976 when the former colonial power Spain left the territory, engaged governments and people, both regionally and internationally, and the implications of its natural resources. The book includes: - a summary of the Western Saharan conflict, by Pedro Pinte Leite, specialist in international law in the Netherlands; - an up-to-date picture of the situation in Western Sahara with regard to natural resources, and the way in which exploitation is taking place, by Toby Shelley, a British journalist; - the UN’s legal opinion from 2002 on exploitation of the natural resources of a Non-Self-Governing Territory written by Hans Corell, former UN Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, the Legal Counsel. Two political views of the conflict are also included. Magnus Schöldtz and Pål Wrange from the Swedish Foreign Ministry elucidate the Swedish Foreign Policy on the Western Sahara Conflict. A statement by Karin Scheele, MEP and President of the Intergroup on Western Sahara in the European Parliament focuses on the economic interests of the parties involved in the conflict. These contributions together with an extended chronology, by Claes Olsson, over the different phases of the conflict form a useful information source for policy-makers, researchers, students and activists interested in or dealing with issues related to the Maghreb framework and in particular the Western Saharan conflict. Contributors include: Hans Corell, is Ambassador and a Former UN Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, the Legal Counsel Pedro Pinto Leite is a Portuguese international jurist based in Holland, secretary of the International Platform of Jurists for East Timor and coordinator of the Dutch section of the International Association of Jurists for Western Sahara. Claes Olsson has done further research after his degree in social sciences and is the author of several books and articles on the Western Saharan issue. Magnus Schöldtz, Deputy Director, Head of North Africa Section, Middle East and North Africa Department, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Stockholm. Pål Wrange is a principal legal advisor on public international law at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Stockholm. Toby Shelley is a journalist and writer. He is author of 'Endgame in the Western Sahara', published by Zed Books. He has visited the Western Sahara and the Sahrawi refugee camps on a number of occasions. Karin Scheele, Member of the European Parliament (MEP), is President of the Intergroup on Western Sahara in the European Parliament

Western Sahara was formerly a Spanish colony, whose sparse population was often cut off from the rest of the world. However, when the Spanish withdrew from the region in 1975, a series of territorial claims and Saharawi nationalist activity conspired to make Western Sahara a territory where freedom from colonial rule was not to be achieved without a struggle. Since the dispute between Morocco, the occupying force, and the nationalist Polisario Front began, the Western Sahara question has led to thousands of human casualties and significant economic losses. All aspects of the Western Sahara and the conflict surrounding its status are covered in this annotated bibliography, in which the literature is predominantly in English.

Jensen explores the long-standing conflict over the sovereignty of Western Sahara-from its colonial roots to its present manifestation as a political stalemate.