The Mediterranean Union a tool of will and representation. Western Sahara The Missing Dimension.

1. .
appear b e ~ e e n neighbors who
The Meditessanean Union sliare a past, a ciiltwre and nume-
mus wmmon interests. The para-
a t001 of 1 and kePkesen~aai0ira
- .. . . .
dox is only apparent; it reflects in
,,,,isone,theconsbt
.. . aspect$ of the human rel'atioris.
~y bohamed Gherkaoui. stratepic&ce ~irned put a jend exiected &d -unexpected conse;:
to ~ Mediterranean rim ~0untrk.s
. ' ,
:. .t.is certainly not cliffi- . tothe frattitidal ~oufiicts whichare q~iences,GhichareatthBsamebe:' doomed'to ~emain t e rivals? e ~
cult to identify the eco- iinderway . '@ro(igùoi$ the . forhin?te and îragic as the ariows ,, . Wiü Systemic divide between
the.
nomic and.geopolitical .Mediten~ean:ma,~zithout wliich' of Pldoctetei, the h r bolt which
'
theNorth and the South getwider?
cmters whicli have - boili he and us laow that - 110 wntrols. the Near East and - Will EuroPeans continue t0 be
cgntributed to the evo- long-lasting peace canmer be rea: Western Africawith theifimmense a ~ ~ a l l e by the denlogra~hic ' ' d
lution of human iocie- ched in the world. 1 t . w iiideecl energy wealth, t h e , crucible of- ex~l*sion
~ b~ the ' m i ~ a t o ~ ' ,
. . . ties. Fepiand Braudel, the distin- . Iiighlf syrnbolicxd tliat Nicolas stigma and the colonial system, flows Of their. neiglibOrs .ie
guislied French higorian, enjoyed S a r k q Gade liiç Propbsal whilk mnscious nationahins, conûicts of Will t0
to i e c d that big cities, StatG ~ c i e - he was visiting Morocco. h so principlebehueendifferentunders-
. i for Pi*one* of theh
Bwn cornplex'? relabg t0 the ecO-
ties and civilkations are almost doing, hé iindoibtedly wanted to tandings 6f modei$ty ind all types
'. always defined in .relation to a F i n t out the, Kingdom's significant of (religio~is)fundamenmlisms and "enti6candni1turald0mi-
. . water area T i was indeed the place in its globd itrategy and $e . temrism', in short a place where
hs of the and of the suc-
case with GrGlc Cjtiesstates, with wer-active role.playedb;yM O ~ C O clash.ofcivilizatiinsis poss/l>le. CG g&ed. by democracy ih the :.'
Romé and its constant reference to in order to defuse confli& or kup- How. otherwise can one undeis- countries? Let's mini- .'
,
int-ïun, filé i, iiternd .-.port 'fie $b~olü+j$ . b f L & g ~ ' . ~ dke&.& of the mize the tige ofpeiils, nationalisms
, 5~ '
'.jgch.ihe '
n, also caUed mare nostruni, R Our mnfiicts. The decisive and brave Bioa'd MiddleEast, stretching£rom fundamentdisms.
sea », which was the a k of the contribution :of the; 'King . of the Atlantiiuntiltlieoiiter edgesof, Let's be horiest: the econOinic;
x
immense .%inpire which tried' to Morocco in fostering a rapproche- Pakkitan.?'Yet the mare inteinum
,
and human develo~ment '
unify, through thé armsbut mostly . ment beh~een Isrièl and Egypt is is dso a unique space for seveid hi ch aflthecounhies totheSou& '
, through. ecoiioiny .and culture al1 doubtlwthe niost iiiush~tive and . convergencesto occur, oying espe- .,oftl'eMedite~ane~areso~a~i@
the . regions . araund fi the symboliccase of Hisforeign policy. cially to culture, and whère sweral .natel~~eaniingforandtheban- . '
Mediterraneanrim. Thii i alço the Stricily speaking, Nicolas Sarkozy possibities ofcross dialogue have . . peÇç
s toacceçs into modern%' wiw
+
case the Hanseatic cities and is&itainlynot the fiist nor iyill he beeh r e n e ~ e da n d suSpined. have to be paid
'
p r i e of a
the Noith Sea, Genoa, Venice, be t l i ~ one to liavegiven ~ucli Econornic and ndtiual exchanges paradigm slift and ? greater sense
ogly
London, Pàris or New York, inclu- importance to this region 'of the, .. exisi between countnes which offi- re*Onkbili@. Inde& one
:
' ding of w v e the failure of the world;
' .. . do m&t&aindiplornatic underst'and the fact that they are
. . Indian empire; aiid the success of NATO didit yen b e f o r e h i m ~ .. ~ ~ ~ ~ If you ask a hlomcan ex~ectiiigt0 receive substantid . .
. relation%
~ h b o n i Egypt and the institutici- has always . deeined that thb farmer about the origirï of 'his material and b m a n assistance
c ' '
. '
.nalization of the Chinese Empire, .Mediterranean . is an :&enlïal seeds, espe~<ally those bf tomato,. hm the couniries t" the North of ..
for exactly the sarne reasons. . . regon for its securitystntegy. Sitch and you wouldbe su@&ed that he 'the 'Meditenanean*but
' m%t
, . . The historian of the Mediterranean . a thougli<aoes not irace,baclcto the laiows it. . . . first and foremost define their
.' . Sea and the Mediteme* World at period follqwing imniediately the Two fundarnéntal problenk seem . . .so"etal~rojectandthen s?lvetheir
. the times .of Philippe I I laiew 9 .1 events, butit~iiltlier
. datesbaclc to preclude fqr the timeybeiig any . pmblems. The.!?ajo?' .misun- . '
exactly wliat he w y tali6ng abo.ut. to as ëaily a the end of €lie Soviet . solution fof the global issues a f f ~ derstanding
s the
For about as long as 2,500 yem, regirne bci'the Waisaw Paci,.the,.' ting this region, The fikt pioblem the Soilfll s e e m v e ~ l i k e lt" . .
~ '
ranging from the first millennium fa11 of the Berlin W d wliicli Ieft the can be siunmedup in the,tworèpie stem fbm this. 'It is hdeed just
: before the m e n t era up unti1 ,the, West -with?iit positional. enemy, nal conflic@which bligl~t'tlii rela- buethat havé made a choice .
. , end - of '15th &iitury, tlie accordirig to .the. expresSion of tions between Iirael and Arab hi ch, S w e hopel is imve*ible-'
Meditei~anean was indeed the Raymond Aron.. Soine may think muntcies on tbe one hand, and
Sea Deinocmc~is t&ngrOotl thepnn-
axis of tlie %-th. It is also amund with:good.reasonthat the place of thoçebe~eenAlgeriaandMorom ciples of liberdiSm me l'es~ected,
the. Mediterranéan that classical . the 1nteinal:Sea h ille global &a- onthé otherhancl,Andwhicli relate the u 1 ~ > e i 3 d v a l u ~ r e ~ @ e d
civilizations of ancieiit ~ k e c and tegy of NA& ,sketches brick into t? the isske of Western Sahara.
,, e and men reflected in the l a w h d . . '.
Rome bave developed in the wake' t l ~ e i s , ~ t in.&$ ! O,& goes It lias been pioposecl to overcome 'ie@tions.
d past; i Pal' iribilte to
of the Plioenicians and die. . .bacl< the sta? of t h ~ l d y i i r e r a . this second c o r d i , by building a thex
, to '
and let'~be generous
,
Carthaginians, the inleemastemof Besides,'twelve years ago, the p l a b . Maghreb of regiqns .of which "th%'be
,
and assistance.
'
navigation and international tmde. foim of theBaml&a,~rocess,ini- ' E w p e $ 0 the potentialitiesbut ~ is nothing that h ' m ~ e m 0s
, . And even when the commercial tiated .by +Spa and whicli was . . alsothe emmwe inustavoid The fr0mdesignù7gthecommonfuture . .
a 4 econoiiiic clout slGfted,to the signed'in Ntiveiuber ,.y95bY27 sta- proposal for an advanced auto- "Ot S0 .to a global mm-
North Sea. under. the effect of tes, has already%t gIObdObjecti~res noiiiy of .Western Sahara pmbably moi future a n d a s ~ e r t h e t e m s o f .
,
' '
conquering . capitaliim, al1
the <anclspoke'to thesphers: +no-
' fitswithinthefianeworkofaconfe a solution that be global to an the
Meditemiean was still.the subject :.mit, financial, political, ..security, demi system, that &ch Morom ~robleins, lafller according t a: ' but o
of keen interest until tLe i9th 6en- social and cultural. I t is exhemely . . has tabled to the s&urity Council. agina na tic, partial and redistic
tury. The Mediterranean has regrettable to iiotethat the reçidt of The e t conflict-is'not insoluble , a ~ ~ i u a bwause ït. is within the ch
always bekn asource of fascination, . tliis EUID-Mediterraneandialogue either, so.longas we can go back to . reach of ,pemonswholeam or re-
'. wen when it stopped to &sunie the his been,utterlypooc . ' . - the and intentiOmwllich h- l e m to live together. No one is
'positioii of the Enter of the civili- - 0 1 the' otlier. harid, ~ m e r i & n , pi& Aiiouar Sadat.&d Menaheh . entitled to prevent us'from s i ~ g '
1 ,
zedworld. . .. polis-viakers have dways given .a Beguh, Itzli& Raùii.;and Ya- , ~ ~ " d t h sametable and ascus-.
e
. .. For some tirxie . now, the stmtegic significance to. this a r a , kafat assupp~rtedinbotlicasesb~'s*g'problems relatèd to water or
~editerranean seems t i have rkne-. even if the their officia! doctrine . ' a sirimg:Arab personality,likethe . p~fl~ltion, many 0% ~mblems . .or
. . . Wed with its position aa the centei sommhat changed in.thiç respect . late Hasan II, and iiisofa as all Which are posed w g e n d ~ an the " to '
. ' '
of interest of sbategists ana pOIiti- BGides, , tlie United: States. of . parti& are willing to make reasona- countiies of the Meditenmean?
, ,
. .
ciaiis. Duringhislastofficialki$t t 6 . Aineri@ recently - then agigaui.yell ble 'wnce~sions, and on bondition . HOW shouldwe male drastic chi-
.. .
Momcco in October 2007, the.. Sefore ille attacks of September 1 - that tlie United S t a t d d Europe Ces between f m i n g , industrial
1
. F-ch Pr,esident;Niwlas Sarkozy, . t d e d off their international rela- are.alsokeen to nieet rquests dong and tounsm p r a c t i c ~ ? Who'. '
, . floated thé idea of creating .the tions tlieoryviJ-à-lis tlie Maghreb. with the politicai and financial wo"ldbeinhis~ghttoban~fiom
Mediterranean -Union.. He &id 'ïhe initiaiive of 'Shiart Eizenstat, cimsequences of ppce. creatii~ fonuns of reflection and .
. . ,. 1iowevér.notgive an outline of nei- under-seeretaiy3 state during th6 . The second problem hindeGng a research whwe o u bright acade- *
'
ther itkfutiire contoiirs nor its Clhton ,administration, ceaçed to global solution is the lack of mi~~a"sandscholarswillbe a . . & '
objectives. Onemay of.m~ise won- consider North Africa as a periphe- . understanding, sonietimes even . OpKJo'-hinib' to mix freel~ and .
der whether his prop&al is but ,a ïal'region. It be-e am-fledged ihhSnsic,s?mwnby someg&ernom . exchange their exPenences witll
' - stmt~em,aga.inst some Europe& partner of Amenmi emnomy and' twards theirpeers in the tivo iim - others?' CensQrshi~ net r d . . . it is
naysayers or an answer, hi ch is. poiiti~~. . ' of the Meditenmean, a in the pas- i~ simply in thé he mincis of people.
s . '
both.diplomatic-and ewpomic, t6 It i therefore quite legitiruateto 2sk' . :siouate idations blinding the poli- . It"~t0ustocastoffand~m PW
s
.
. Turkey's request, to join t h e : why, at tlieturn of the 2-t cenhuy, ticians and +e &oples, thus a u - , s e l v ~ h m
' ' , thesei-SibleshacMes.
Europem Union; that neither he ..the mare nosb~irnbecan? ag&i . sing h e m to stray from theü com- '
' . ,
~r other E u w n s want to meet .the' siibject of reiiewed interest? mon interests. The colonial paçt Professor .
Agenerous ieading of the yet unar~. h%ers, are. indeed innumerable. soinetirnes re-emerges, with the
,. '
Mohamed G5erkaoui ,
' ticulated thouglit of the .French Fit, the, ~ e d i t e ~ ~ a n ebasii1 is resiilt of dqkeningthe ~resent . Research Directo? at the
aii. and
~residerit doesxather speak of his .the geonieûical venue of inuch . mortg'aging the fi&-: such is the National Centrefor
wiU to pmmote the creation. of a . deniogizpliiemi>vementswithboth case between France and Algeria Scientific Research, Paris ,
. ..
. .
. . . . . .
,

2. The Missing Dimension
tist urges; one cou6 reshape hthe
region and set z p .a large areb :'. . . . .:
extending h m Lagouira (a city.in );: .':
.the south of Western Sahara) .to . 1. 1
Agadir (the regional capital of the r j:: ,. .
. '
.
:
'of Sous). But'it i equaliy irue thaf . :;:> ' :;
s .;
reader, 1tookinto account only the one could not stop half way a n d . . :. : . ... .> !
By Moharned Cherkaoui sary as one could daim that this
he problem of very weil-being couid be aecoun- individuals bom in Western incorporate the whole, Sou& , . ..'. .'- I. '
'. . - , ,
Western Sahara ha. ted for by the mere amount of Sahara prior to 1975 the end of Maisa-Draa region, the Southém . ,
been aiways laid out individual actions rather than by Spanish mlonization. areaofHighAtlasandgradudYYallall: :;::-!.
.:;!.:
in terms of intema- public policies. 1wouid add that this result would Morocw intothe Western Sahara. ": I'' . ,.;':'::?
tional law. We Neediess for me to get back to have been evcn more hpressive if To attempt to divide familie&- . ::,:, ::.;.:?
Imav, however, that poverty Iwels in the Sahara which 1 had had the maniage contracts ween two political entities would . ., . !::';j:,i,
ithas other important dimensions. are the lowest nationwide, nor of Sahrawis who lived m other thus be socially, politically and. ...;::ai
It is surprisingthat a central aspect shall 1 get back to the social and regions of Morocco than the morallyprejudiciai from the point : . . ".!:?Fi
'
of this problem is completely left human development measures Sahara avdable. ln this popula- of view of their human rights an$: . .. '..:..y:: . ;... ,
out accidentaliy or deliberately which are undeniably the highest tion, it i most likely that hetero- their clear desire to live together. . :l;
s i
: '
h m discussions and agenda of throughout the Engdom. One gamous mamage rate reaches Let's not forget that marriage is ' : :..,.'i:
tlie international organizations or pertinent example is that of school record levels. dependent only on the free clioice :. . :;: $
h m officiai speeches: 1 mean the enrolment: the rate of enrolment As a matter offact, Ihavebeen able of the individuai, not that of the j>;.*b!;
St#& @='of othe~insti&ti*ns:~"<:"T2.
aJi1
,
" i&k bond that tiffi'tt$e~eo~l& of the young Sahawi gënerations
of to demonstrate that despite the
Western Sahara to the Moroccan is now higlier than that of their colonial borders, the heteroga- that rnight impose it. .Those pla-.: .., 1 ;':$Y
society or to any other social and peers in the most affluent socidy mous marriages of the Sahrawis ced in the role of a god-like deci-. .:. : < S i .
political entity. Does this bond and culturally endowed Moroccan during the Spanish colonization sion maker would fare a dilemma ., :: '!,~~~~ ;'
exist?How stxung i it? Arewe able regions. The importance of such a
s period werewith other M o r o w , that wo&J be worse than that ) lt:i~i
: .;.*-.;, .
to forecast the wnsequences of its result can be appmbted by the particularly the other Sahrawis experienced ' by Lord . .!, d;$
,breaiàng? fact that atthe end of Spanish colo- and only with them. Some isolated Mountbatten and QdRadcliffe . ; 3 . 2; ,
It is then highly desirable to deal nisation in 1975, there were only marriage instances with the at the time of the partition of .,:.;. $:.i'i'.?
with the problem of social bond 2300 children enrolled in prirnary MaUritanians and foreignem tan Bfitish India into two indePen:.:.
.dent 1 wouid bet that 2:.. ... ${,Y .
:
,:!< $i(~$
; .;- '
and to clarify our ideas on that schools and not a single secondary be pointed out. However, they are
subject In doing so, w can hope school. Today, pnmary school
e insignificant compared to the supreme judge would have :to-., !;,- ' ,
i
ils,
to s p m Sahrawi and non Sahrawi enrolmentrate has almost reached other maûimonial a&. That is in consider the case of East Timoi. : ., . : : $ '
peoples a ioreshadowed humani- the saturation threshold The fact an important sociological befow pronouncing his sentence. ,. ;?g!: ', ,
tari* tragedy in case the socialties growth ?tes m secondary school aspect that warrants hirther atten- 1 have not forgotten those social. . . .; ?:?;:
are broken do*. As a matter of enrohent are unprecedented and tion h m current masers who and political movements .the . :. , ' fi;:.':? !
fact, 1 have extensively anai@ exceed those in Casablanca, the muid like i the dent realrn of S a h m and inMorom. Thq-'
n ,. ~. ,..:s?;.:
. C.. i.
this question 'in my last esay on economic capital oî the kgdom. their study to sketch on a map the preàictable to me. Alexis de; . :::.:f:.:.
Morocco and the Sahara. In the This gigantic growth started weU a h c t territorial bordes. In s Toqueville, the Amencan derno- .
u - , . ;-:;;. ,:
,:>.:.
p e n t article, I would like to back in 1975. doing, they thiithat they are fui- m c y theoretician, would certainly - . $$ '
highlight some conclusions of this For thwretid and practical rea- filling an abstract legd tenet ins- have forecast and explained them. : ?.
' :;
study based on detailed analysis of sons that 1discuss in the first chap- tead of worrying about the reallife The Tocquedie hypothesis 1tried - . (!2: , :
empirid data. ter of tte second part of this book, of~eopla . to test whereby the economic .. !:.,$
Let rne.remindthe readerthat two 1 have also conducted a survey The data of the survey dong With modernisationof Morocco,andthe.:,.; ...;~.~.;:';: ,
main issues have been raised in which &es what is, in my view the analyse are indicative of a lot Saharian provinces, the unp&e;':.s<.:&~~,;E;:i:
this sociological and geopolitical and in all the specialkts'views, the more in that they lead to results dented political lib&alization that .
study. The 6rst has dealt with the best indicator of social integration: that leave no doubt whatsoever as the citizens have been enjoying
geostrategic issues that confront what 1 term matrimonial to the congruenceofthis sociologi- over the last decade, the excessive
the Sahara. The second main exchange. To this end 1have peru- cal s m y and the perception of importance attached to the like- .,"""
thread of this essay has been to sed al1 the Adoulian registers the Sahmwis with regard to their god State so that their problems
examine a central issue for the which record marriage contracts bonds with the individuals from can be S O M , fin* the w -
and e
region, that of the social integra- from the yeas 1960 to 2006 in other Southemt r i i . We thereby lessness of the administration, are^
tion of the Sahrawipeoplffi. 1have order to test the hypothesis that in learn that the rnost intense matci- not alien t the windsof revolt blo-
o .
said that, without the Sahara, the the Sahara,where endogamyis the moniai exchanges are those taking wing in the direction of 'the..- ., '
history of Morocco cannot be rule, heterogamow mariage bet- place between the people from Moroccan youth. This social'cate-
understood, and without ween Sahrawis and the rest of the Western Sahara and those h m g o v has certainly benefited from
Morocco, the Sahara is no more Moroccan has graduaiiyincreased. other Southern Moroccan pmvin- advantages that would be hard to
than a desert. Tlie sentence niiglit The survey covers about 30,000 ces. This result, therefore, overlook, but it is undoubtedly
seem too emphatic, but it expres- marriage certincates. It is the only c o h the inference 1 came up currentlygoing through the u%q7
ses what the historians and w e y of this type. The data it with by the end of the detailed tainties ofthe future. ::';::- .. :. '.:'.,
;
anthropologistsof the region have makes avdable has enabled me to study of the data. They can be 1 cannot, i the end, &te the la$ . j
n
clearly demonstrated. test d types of regional homo- easily accounted for. As a matter of words of this argicle without il&?- ;
In order to assess this proposition, gamy and endogamy. 1 should fact, the Sahrawis h m the two king in partîculai about th:??
1 have used al the avdable demo- admtthat theresuits ofthis analy-
l major areas have identical tribe- Maghrebi pw$e who : bav$ ,-.
graphic, economicand sociological sis were unpredictable, men ama- based structures, a common secu- becorne p o w e r l & ~ ~ . ~ w i t r i ~ ~ ~%O o ~ , , ,
. .; i
data of the last four decades, and zing. 1wii merely quote one as an lar history, and a similar culture form of aitificial:.&d exliausting.? . ;:, ;
deployed the most reüned statisti- example. In forty years, the rate of despite some local specificities. dissension. If thiy fail to g&the- i; , 1:
cal and mathematical models, with endogamywent h m more @/O to They bave a much s h n ~ esociai exact econ&c,mt of the.ab<k&. JL-;*
r
the aim of testing the hypothesis of l e s than 55%.Almost aii the hete- bond that one can de. of a Maghrebi union amotuitingto'""
a relatively good integration of rogeneous marriages were bet- These analyses refiect what some tens of biion douars, they can
these peoples. The conclusions of ween Sahrawis and Momccans Sahrawis sense. But pemiving it nevarthelas perceive its sigrdi-
this study d. lead in the same £rom other regions. These rates i a fimy manner diifers from cance. They admit being hostages
n
direction, that of -the emergence have been calcuiated based on a being able to dernonstrate it. of leaders wonying much more
and -engthening of a dense net- cross check of birth a m s of spou- Moreover, if one wishes to be rea- about imperiaiiic strateaes than
work of social and econonucbonds ses. In order to clear up any ambi- listic s as to admit that al1 these about democracy and well-being.
u
that integrate the Saharan provin- guity, 1 have made the distinction populations share iiumerous vita! It w~uld m n g to believe t h d
he
c s and helped them to leave the between the ancient provinces
e points, and that they are too simi- they are more worried about their ,
'kate of destitution in which they under ~panish colonizagon,that is lar to distinguish, one cannot see daily bread than concerned with
foundthemselves dur in^ colonisa- Western Sahara, and the other how it would be possible to envi- the issues about their union. To
tion, and allowed them& moder- Sahara regions, some of which Iiad sion splittingthem into two politi- t h i i so would be an insult to their
nise due to an effective positive been regained earlier by Momcm c d entities. Therefore, erecting intelligence.
discrimination policy. 1have s u h (Guelmim, Ifni, Tarfaya, Tan Tan), border between the Western
jected the hypothesis of the impact and finally the Moroccan non Sahara and the other Southern Professor
of the public policies on the weU- Saharan regions. NI the rates provinus is sociologicaliy absurd. Mohamed Cherkaoui
being of the Sahara people in relate only to Westem Sahara. The people from the Western Research Director at the
various areas to the most shingent. .. Besides, in order to avoid any Saharafeel it so intensehl that that National Cenîrefor
empmcal tests. That was neces--' ambivalence in the mind of the they consider the other Sahrawis S c i e n ~ Research, P r s
c ai