Security versus Development in the Maghreb: A Study of the Cases of Morocco and Algeria

Abstract

This study examines national security and social development in both Morocco and Algeria through the lens of public expenditure. It relies on both quantitative and qualitative measures of military spending and spending on three social policies (social protection, health, and education), approaching the issue from a political economy perspective of militarisation and a holistic analysis of security, and applying a methodology of political analysis supported by quantitative statistical reasoning. The study concludes that military spending in the two countries is rapidly increasing despite its adverse impact on social policies, due to the Moroccan-Algerian arms race as well as the military elite’s tangible grasp on power in Algeria and the pressure it exerts in Morocco. Nevertheless, the study finds that the real problem with the trajectory of spending in the two countries is related to their national security priorities: the security of the political regime—a task entrusted to the military establishment—takes precedence over the security of society provided by social spending.