Navigating turbulent waters: associative clientelism and the rise and decline of Riffian elites in Morocco

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines the pathways followed by peripheral elites to gain access to the Moroccan state apparatus and play a broker role between the centre and the periphery in Morocco. It focusses on Riffian elites and how their profile has changed since independence according to the different social pacts and dynamics of inclusion promoted by the Moroccan regime. The study pays special attention to analysing the landscape of the new elites that emerged during the reign of Mohammed VI through what has been termed associative clientelism, the limits of this new model of inclusion and the decline of these elites.