The Threat from the South? The Islamist Challenge as a Factor in Euro-Moroccan Relations, 1995–2009

Abstract

This article examines the evolution of Euro-Moroccan relations since the signing of the Barcelona Declaration in 1995. In doing so it looks to illuminate the range of strategic factors which have driven the bilateral relationship over the last decade and a half. It argues that of all the developments since 1995, the increasingly widespread perception in Europe of Morocco as part of the radical Islamist ‘problem’, as much as part of the ‘solution’ has been most influential in shaping contemporary bilateral strategic ties.