The use of Amazigh identities in tourism development projects. Interconnectedness and embeddedness dynamics in the Moroccan mountains

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This article examines the dynamics, challenges and impacts brought about by the emergence of a new tourism offer in the Moroccan mountains based on mobilizing Amazigh identities. It explores the embeddedness and interconnectedness dynamic which feeds these identity strategies implemented by the project managers, who search for territorial embeddedness by promoting heritage practices and objects they class to be representative of the latter. At the same time, they “interconnect” with global flow of identity imaginaries and referents, and with actor networks liable to back their discourse on any aspect of Amazigh identity. The different strategies, according to the objects, networks and referents used will be differentiated, and focus will be placed on the way in which these strategies work on collective identities and reinvent their territorial links. This paper is the result of fieldwork carried out in the Western High Atlas and Anti-Atlas regions.