The ‘Gradualist’ Approach to Grassroots Opposition Dynamics in Autocracies: The case of politicised Moroccan youth since the 2011 ‘Arab Uprisings

Like other cases across the Arab World in 2011, Morocco underwent its own ‘Arab Uprising’. Opposition forces and activists coalesced largely under the 20th February Movement (Feb20) to contest the autocratic status quo. The regime quickly responded with a raft of reforms and promises to placate protestors, however over the years since it has been evident such were designed simply to alleviate pressure at the time, where Morocco remains strongly autocratic. Through extensive research one has identified that many youth activists active since have become ‘inspired’ by the grassroots citizen expression and demands of protesters in 2011 including (but not limited to) social justice, and genuine political inclusion and participation in policymaking (democratisation). However, many disagreed with the ‘street activist’ strategies and attitudes that characterised Feb20. Instead, many favoured what could be termed ‘gradualism’: an inclination to engage with existing structures/institutions to incur gradual reforms and changes in socio-political culture from the grassroots. Key to this has been informal political engagement through civil society associations on matters related to youth political expression and inclusion, democratisation, political accountability, and social equality. To a lesser extent this has also included participating more formally, through joining political parties and casting votes at elections, where gradualists believe it is vital to ‘interplay’ between informal and formal realms of contestation. A major finding discovered is that such motivations were indeed influenced by a perceived ‘inspiration’ dynamic from 2011, but tempered strategically by a view that to press for such changes through extensive demonstrations/more-‘militant’ action would unleash the regime’s and undo limited available avenues for expression. However, how sustainable has the gradualist approach been? Many of those who subscribed to this approach admitted their struggles and growing disillusion going down such a path, highlighting how many likeminded friends and colleagues had abandoned such efforts. Further, they drew upon the fact that the overwhelming majority of youth in Morocco remain depoliticised, not engaged in any mode of participation. This paper/presentation seeks to critically evaluate the gradualist approach held by some youth activists in Morocco over recent years as the underlining modus operandi for their grassroots political engagement. It will unpackage how the ‘inspiration’ narrative of 2011 and Feb20 gave impetus to such an approach, as well as post-2011 regime factors, particularly increased repression, helped facilitate it. It will explore these with regard to three key avenues identified in prior research: civil society associations, elections and political party participation. Crucially, I will analyse hurdles and challenges posed to gradualism. In particular these will include continued perceived and actual youth exclusion from political parties, regime restrictions and control over civil society, online repression, outreach struggles by activists to gauge wider interest from their peers, and impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic lockdowns. Overall, it will be argued that whilst gradualism has featured as a significant approach among the limited youth activists in recent years, shaped by the legacy of 2011, the approach is becoming ever more unsustainable, with many increasingly abandoning efforts of contestation along such lines.