Maghreb Countries Research Articles

Protecting Water Resources in North African Countries as an Entry Point to Achieve the Sixth Sustainable Development Goal

This article examines the legal framework on water in the Maghreb countries and analyzes if the existing legal framework guarantees the achievement of the sixth Sustainable Development Goal by 2030. One of the most important challenges faced by North African countries is the scarcity of water resources. Water scarcity and difficulty of providing the population with potable water, causes a thirst crisis and disruption of biodiversity, and thus preventing the achievement of sustainable economic and social growth, especially since the communities of this region are known for their intensive agricultural activity. The MENA region is among the most exposed to the negative effects of climate change, as the decrease in rainfall and its temporal and spatial variation leads to frequent floods and multiple droughts. All these pose the problem of dealing with the legal system considering the weak official cooperation between these countries to deal with this reality and find the necessary mechanisms to protect water resources from depletion, face climate change and reduce its effects. This article focuses on the Maghreb countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Mauritania. The choice of these countries is motivated by the fact that they share the same climatic characteristics and above all they suffer in the same way from the repercussions of global warming. Water resources in these countries are under increasing pressure amid population and industrial growth, irrigated agriculture, urbanization, tourism, climate change, overexploitation of aquifers and deteriorating water quality. In terms of methodology, the article employs a literature review of studies in this field as well as an analysis of legal texts related to water and the environment in the countries surveyed. This study shows that the Maghreb countries have made considerable efforts at the legal level to guarantee access to water for their citizens, however there are many peculiarities and insufficiencies for which the study presents some recommendations susceptible to help with the attainment of the 6 SDG objective within 2030.

Women’s political activity and leadership in the Maghreb countries. A post-Arab Spring perspective

Women’s political activity and leadership in the Maghreb countries. A post-Arab Spring perspective

Assessing the achievement of sustainable development in the Maghreb countries

Aim. Comparative analysis of the progress of achieving sustainable development by Maghreb countries (among them Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania) according to the indices developed by international organizations and scientific institutions, as well as ranking the countries according to the level of sustainable development in the region.Objectives. To analyze the regulatory framework governing sustainable development in the Maghreb countries; to assess the level of sustainable development of the countries under consideration according to international environmental, social and economic indices in 2018–2023; to apply a universal methodology for assessing sustainable development based on basic statistical data of each country; to identify common achievements and unique challenges faced by countries in the process of implementing sustainable development programs.Methods. The analysis is based on the comparison of statistical data, publications and reports of international organizations on the success of the implementation of sustainable development programs in the Maghreb countries. Comparative and analytical approaches to assessing the level of sustainable development were applied, and attention was paid to factors affecting successes and obstacles to achieving sustainable development.Results. Maghreb countries are at different levels of sustainable development. The article traces the differences in the countries’ strategies for implementing national sustainable development programs. The analysis of the level of sustainable development in Maghreb countries showed that Morocco has the highest position. Libya has the lowest level of sustainable development. The poverty rate in the region is decreasing, although in Libya, it remains high. Countries are showing progress in renewable energy development, with Morocco in particular implementing solar energy programs. Despite the successes, the countries face significant challenges. Inequality in access to resources and income, along with high unemployment, especially among youth, remains a pressing problem in the region. Political instability in Libya, non-cooperation between Morocco and Algeria hinder economic development and the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals.Conclusions. Regular monitoring of the level of sustainable development in the Maghreb countries, as well as timely adjustment of actions, serves as a necessary step to achieve prosperity and well-being in the region. Despite many challenges, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania have great potential for sustainable development. However, realizing the Aim. requires considerable effort, political will and effective cooperation, both within the region and internationally. It is necessary to continue to invest in development, strengthen regional cooperation and utilize innovative technologies to achieve a sustainable future.

Assessment of the causes of educational decline in the Maghreb countries

The education systems in Maghreb countries, including Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, are experiencing significant deterioration due to a mix of internal and external factors. Internally, challenges such as outdated curricula, poor teacher training, overcrowded classrooms, and inadequate infrastructure undermine the quality of education. These issues are worsened by administrative inefficiencies and insufficient investment. Externally, socio-economic problems like high unemployment, political instability, and limited funding further strain the education sector. Additionally, the rapid pace of globalization and technological advancements outstrip the capabilities of these education systems to adapt. Cultural factors, including societal attitudes toward education, also contribute to the decline. Addressing these issues requires comprehensive reforms, such as updating curricula, investing in infrastructure and teacher training, and shifting cultural perceptions to prioritize education as a cornerstone for national development.

Investigating language ideologies and attitudes toward dubbing Disney movies into Arabic

This study analyzes the online discussions surrounding the dubbing of Disney movies into two Arabic varieties: Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (ECA). The objective is to uncover the language ideologies and attitudes taken by Disney Facebook commenters and verbal-guise technique (VGT) participants online. Dubbing Disney movies into these two varieties has sparked numerous debates on social media, particularly on Facebook. The study employed stance-taking to analyze the metalinguistic comments made by Facebook users about the use of these two Arabic varieties in the context of Disney. A VGT experiment was conducted on Disney excerpts to complement the results. The findings provided valuable insights into how Arab social media users’ stances are influenced by their ideologies and attitudes. Lastly, the VGT experiment provided another perspective on how Arabs evaluate MSA and ECA in the context of Disney movies and how they express their indirect language attitudes. The findings showed the differences in language attitudes between Maghreb, Mashreq, and Arab Peninsula countries. The language attitudes of Mashreq and Peninsula countries were closer to each other than to those of the Maghreb countries. Moreover, ECA competes with MSA in prestige and pleasantness. MSA is seen as the thread that connects the Arab World and is admired for its connection with the Arab heritage, religion, and education. However, it is less favored for its rigidity, unintelligibility, and unnaturalness as a spoken variety. Finally, ECA is favored for its simplicity, humor, closeness, familiarity, intimacy, naturalness, and entertainment.

243.4: Kidney transplantation in the maghreb countries: current situation, challenges and opportunities.

243.4: Kidney transplantation in the maghreb countries: current situation, challenges and opportunities.

Resistance to ACCase and ALS-inhibiting herbicides detected in targeted sampling of Lolium rigidum (rigid ryegrass) populations from cereal crops in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia

Lolium rigidum Gaud. (rigid ryegrass) is one of the most widespread weeds in cereal crops in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. This weed has evolved resistance to various herbicide modes of action in this region. ACCase and ALS inhibiting herbicides are mainly used in the major-cereal growing regions to control rigid ryegrass. Through a questionnaire, regions where farmers reported less control of herbicide treatments were registered in the three Maghreb countries. Registered fields were visited for collection and 75 field populations were screened with two ACCase and two ALS herbicides. Target site resistance (TSR) was diagnosed using Illumina Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology. The sensitivity bioassay results revealed over 60% of sampled populations to be resistant to pinoxaden and/or clodinafop and about 40% to be resistant to iodosulfuron + mesosulfuron and/or pyroxsulam. In addition, 53% of populations displayed resistance (R) to the two herbicide modes of action tested among the regions. In total, 16 ACCase and 11 ALS mutant alleles were identified, carrying out an amino-acid substitution and conferring herbicide resistance in 3700 of the analyzed plants. Most ACCase and ALS mutations were detected at codons Ile1781 and Pro197, respectively. Not only does this study demonstrate the presence of both cross and multiple resistance, it also highlights the non-ACCase and non-ALS -based resistance mechanisms that could confer resistance to herbicides with different modes of action which complicates the resistance management strategies. In the three Maghreb countries, this challenge is even more prominent due to few modes of action being available for rigid ryegrass control due to low-cost market and the prevalence of generic herbicides.

Profile of human rights defenders in the Maghreb: the case of the Tunisian human rights league

ABSTRACT Since the 1980s, human rights activists have constituted political agenda-setting groups in the Maghreb countries, mainly following the international turn towards human rights in the post-Cold War decades. Despite this fact, only scarce attention has been paid to their social and professional background. The article explores this topic and provides hitherto unpublished data about the first generation of human rights activists in Tunisia, in particular the members of the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH). Its members were a product of post-colonial Tunisia’s investment in (higher) education, teachers and professors, white-collar public servants, lawyers, doctors and journalists. They formed a committed, intellectual elite concerned with relationship between the state and citizens, seeking to influence public policies, carve out public, independent political spaces and get a share in the management of state affairs. Factual evidence surrounding human rights activists in Morocco and Algeria suggests they shared the same characteristics as LTDH members. Given the human rights situation in the Maghreb countries, the article suggests more research should be done about how human rights activists could more effectively link-up up with moral activism of social–professional groups that are absent from the human rights organisations.

Institutions, Human Capital, and Economic Growth in the Maghreb countries

Institutions, Human Capital, and Economic Growth in the Maghreb countries

The four misses of agricultural water husbandry in the Maghreb

AbstractRecurrent droughts plaguing the Maghreb geography have impacted dramatically on the yet scarce renewable water resources. This situation intensified tensions between water users, namely urban, industrial and agricultural sectors. At this point, agricultural water management in large‐scale irrigated schemes is under scrutiny since more than two‐thirds of the Maghreb mobilized water resources are used for agricultural purposes. However, this sector's performance is undermined by mismanagement, misuse, mispricing and misgovernance of agricultural water. From low irrigation water transport efficiencies, low water use efficiency at field level and low valuation of irrigation water by farmers, to nonreasoned pricing policies and lack of good governance, agricultural water husbandry is suffering a number of setbacks. This situation endangers the sustainable development of large‐scale irrigation schemes and could deprive Maghreb countries of the contribution of irrigated agriculture to countries' GDP and food security. These constraints were thoroughly analyzed, and a set of remedies was discussed that included restoration of water transport canals and water distribution networks, improvement of cropping systems, crop water use efficiency, extension services, reasoned subsidies and irrigation water pricing. Only by redirecting water husbandry in the large‐scale irrigation schemes, Maghreb countries can achieve sustainable development.

Diversity of Popular Expressions in Arab Maghreb Drawings

The current research addresses the study of the diversity of popular expressions in the drawings of the Arab Maghreb which can be employed in formative formulations that are consistent with the concepts of modernity in art, as the heritage expressions was associated with the authentic civilizational concepts and with the myths and folkloric stories that have an active presence in the memory of the Arab consciousness. The current research included four sections, the first contained the theoretical framework of the research. It identified the research problem which was summarized in the following question: What is the diversity in the popular expressions in the Arab Maghreb? In addition to its inclusion of the importance of the research and the need for it, and the research objective represented by (identifying the popular expressions in the Arab Maghreb), and it also included the research limits, including the objective that was determined by studying the representations of popular expressions in drawings of the Arab Maghreb executed with acrylic, watercolor and oil paints within the time limits confined between (1955_2018) and the spatial limits in the countries of the Arab Maghreb (Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria), reaching the definition of the terms mentioned in the research. The study analyzed a sample of 4 models from the works of artists from each of the countries of the Arab. Th results showed that the Moroccan artist sought to enrich his artistic experience with subjects related to the local and folkloric richness in the diversity of popular expressions, as in all the sample models of the research. The research concluded with proposals, in which it was suggested to conduct a comparative study between popular symbols in the countries of the Maghreb and the Arab Gulf countries.

Evolution of the epidemiology of viral diseases in relation to migratory movements in the arab maghreb countries

Evolution of the epidemiology of viral diseases in relation to migratory movements in the arab maghreb countries

Identifying Determinants of Food Security Using Panel Data Analysis: Evidence from Maghreb Countries

Countries and international bodies are focusing on agriculture as a route to achieving sustainable food security. Hence, the aim of this study is to examine the determinants of food security. It investigates the effects of gross domestic product deflator (GDPD), rural population, arable area, agricultural workers, farmers, agricultural exports, and agricultural imports on agricultural performance, which is a metric of food security. This study uses time lapse data models of a sample from the group of Maghreb states, namely Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Mauritania, for the 2003–2018 period. All these data were collected from the statistical reports of the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development. The results provide evidence of the significant positive impacts of gross domestic product, arable areas, and agricultural exports on the agricultural sector’s performance, which results in achieving food security. However, the results indicate that the rural population and the number of workers in the agricultural sector have a significantly negative relationship with agricultural sector performance. In terms of agricultural imports, the results do not show a relationship between agricultural imports and agricultural sector performance. To the best of the researchers’ knowledge, this is the first study conducted in the Maghreb states, including five countries. This study alerts policymakers to issues regarding the importance of having effective policies that could enhance the performance of agricultural production to achieve food security in the Maghreb states. Policymakers must improve the investment climate in North African countries to encourage investors to enter the agricultural sector.

The prevalence of headache in the adult population of Morocco: a cross-sectional population-based study

BackgroundThe series of population-based studies conducted by the Global Campaign against Headache has, so far, included Pakistan and Saudi Arabia from the Eastern Mediterranean Region. The Maghreb countries of North Africa, also part of this Region, are geographically apart and culturally very different from these countries. Here we report a study in Morocco.MethodsWe applied the standardised methodology of Global Campaign studies, with cluster-randomized sampling in regions of Morocco selected to be representative of its diversities. In three of these regions, in accordance with this methodology, we made unannounced visits to randomly selected households and, from each, interviewed one randomly selected adult member (aged 18–65 years) using the HARDSHIP structured questionnaire translated into Moroccan Arabic and French. In a fourth region (Fès), because permission for such sampling was not given by the administrative authority, people were randomly stopped in streets and markets and, when willing, interviewed using the same questionnaire. This was a major protocol violation.ResultsWe included 3,474 participants, 1,074 (41.7%) from Agadir, 1,079 (41.9%) from Marrakech, 422 (16.4%) from Tétouan and 899 from Fès. In a second protocol violation, interviewers failed to record the non-participating proportion. In the main analysis, excluding Fès, observed 1-year prevalence of any headache was 80.1% among females, 68.2% among males. Observed 1-day prevalence (headache yesterday) was 17.8%. After adjustment for age and gender, migraine prevalence was 30.8% (higher among females [aOR = 1.6]) and TTH prevalence 32.1% (lower among females [aOR = 0.8]). Headache on ≥ 15 days/month (H15+) was very common (10.5%), and in more than half of cases (5.9%) associated with acute medication overuse (on ≥ 15 days/month) and accordingly diagnosed as probable medication-overuse headache (pMOH). Both pMOH (aOR = 2.6) and other H15+ (aOR = 1.9) were more common among females. In the Fès sample, adjusted prevalences were similar, numerically but not significantly higher except for other H15+.ConclusionsWhile the 1-year prevalence of headache among adults in Morocco is similar to that of many other countries, migraine on the evidence here is at the upper end of the global range, but not outside it. H15 + and pMOH are very prevalent, contributing to the high one-day prevalence of headache.

The Reconciliation Policy Factory in the Mediterranean Area: Transitional Justice as a Model for Managing a Violent Past (Part II)

The Maghreb space was and remains a specific one, conservative and little affected by European democratic processes, despite the fact that it has secular traditions with European states, especially with France, Spain and Italy. The last decades of the 20th century have radically changed the mentality of the class politics of this region, including thanks to external factors, but also internal ones, dictated by the visions of the new generation influenced by Western democratic values. However, the reconciliation process of the Maghreb countries’ societies cannot be viewed outside of the evolutionary processes that strongly influenced the respective political regimes and produced major effects on the progressive changes in the interest of the citizen. At the same time, we cannot examine the respective societies as a package, each of them having its own traditions, be it political, legal, cultural or social. In such conditions, the practice accumulated by the Maghreb countries in the implementation of transitional justice, the final objective being national reconciliation, is of increased interest for post-conflict societies, including the Republic of Moldova.

On medieval (The 14th to 15th centuries) Maghreb countries’ court

The Maghreb countries occupy a special place in theoretical and legal courses. Their legal procedures and institutions were influenced by various factors. Currently, North African legal systems are a combination of French positive law, local customs and Islamic law. However, the process of the formation of the legal institutions of the Maghreb took a long time; it was influenced by both subjective political factors and the customary law of the Berber tribes. The purpose of this study is to establish the legal status of judges in litigation in the medieval Maghreb. The main source for studying the judicial process of the medieval Maghreb are the texts of fatwas compiled by educated jurists of the 14th – 15th centuries. Therefore, when studying the problem, the authors of the article used the method of analysing the legal text in combination with the principle of historicism. The main result of the study was the conclusion that the powers, including judicial, of the qadi in regions remote from the centre of the state were replaced by the powers of other officials, often acting on the basis of Berber customary law. When there was a conflict between the norms of Islamic law and local customs, the court more often made a decision based on the norms of customary law.

MANIFESTATIONS OF MILITANT UNITY IN THE MAGHREB BETWEEN 1926/1958 (ALGERIA - TUNISIA AND THE MOROCCO AS A MODEL

The submission of the Maghreb countries (Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco) to the french and spanish occupation, and its arbitrary practices and crimes committed against the peoples of the region made these peoples more cohesive and harmonious, this increased the feeling of loneliness and any event in one country would soon resonate in the rest. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the call for struggle began to grow among political and reformist elites and leaders of Maghreb national movements. Maghreb awareness associated with the idea of the unity of the Arab Maghreb in the interwar period increased to develop further after world war II, and these countries did not rely only on the countrie national struggle, however, it adopted the Maghreb dimension based on collective confrontation and the unity of the historical and civilized system, and this stability was embodied and crystallized in parties, associations and committees that had a major role in embodying the common Maghreb struggle, this steadfastness was embodied and crystallized in parties, associations and committees that played a major role in embodying the common Maghreb struggle. The idea of Maghreb unity represented an important endeavor in the activity of Maghreb national movements and the coordination of the joint struggle through its various stages in the three countries. Research Objectives : This research paper aims to shed light on the Maghreb struggle against occupation in the countries of the Arab Maghreb, including french and spanish, during the contemporary period, and the interaction of the parties of the national movement in resisting the aggressors, Then highlighting the development of the Maghreb struggle after the end of world war II in strengthening solidarity among the peoples of this arab region to gain arab and international support for liberation and unity

Critical Review on the Energy Retrofitting Trends in Residential Buildings of Arab Mashreq and Maghreb Countries

In the 21st century, global energy security is a critical concern. Buildings contribute to over 40% of the worldwide energy consumption, primarily due to heating and cooling, resulting in a third of greenhouse gas emissions. The residential sector accounts for 25% of global electricity consumption, and in the Arab Mashreq and Maghreb (AMM) countries, the residential sector consumes around 41% of the total electricity. Existing residential buildings constitute a significant portion of the building sector, playing a crucial role in the overall performance of the building sector. To address this issue, it is essential to invest in the energy retrofitting of existing unsustainable residential buildings. This study aims to provide a comprehensive critical review of the literature on residential buildings’ energy retrofitting trends in the AMM countries. Using a keyword-based search, 41 relevant studies were identified and critically analysed to identify gaps in the literature, benchmarking against global retrofit studies’ trends, including the absence of top-down and bottom-up physical approaches and the limited use of modern tools like BIM. Additionally, there is a significant lack of studies that present measured and verified case studies of implemented energy retrofitting projects. The study concludes with recommendations for future research to bridge the gaps in the literature.

Real Time Simulation of HVDC and VSC-HVDC models: Application to Algerian – Spanish Power System Interconnection

Most of world’s electric power systems are now widely interconnected involving inter-regional and international connections. The purpose is to achieve better efficiency in generation and transmission of energy. We need these interconnections to take advantage of diversity of loads, availability of sources and fuel price to supply electricity at minimum cost with a required reliability. In addition to the existing interconnections, namely those of the Maghreb, Algeria is Already interconnected to Tunisia (4 connections) and to Morocco (2 connections). But a direct interconnection with European countries around Mediterranean Sea will be open up new opportunities to both partners for economic and technical reasons. Since 2002, Algeria has a new politic to diversify international exchanges. A great number of studies of Interconnection Algerian-Spanish network project have been done by many organisations. Furthermore with the HVDC and VSC-HVDC technology, who allowed DC transport, this interconnection, can be achieved with high reliability. But there is the constraint that Maghreb countries networks are weak in comparison with Spanish one which is robust, and strongly interconnected with European network. In order to give some elements of solution to realise this project, real time simulators of grids are an interesting tool. These simulators are used to simulate grids and electrical equipments with input/output signals to interact with real equipment. In this article, we present different HVDC and VSC-HVDC models, and we will define the best adaptive one to real time simulation, and results obtained with EMEGASIM of the RT LAB platform.

The Political Economy of China’s Relations with the Maghreb Countries: Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia

ABSTRACT: The political–economic relationship between China and the five countries of the Maghreb region vary substantially. China’s relations with Algeria are older and much more established than with the other countries, but China has been seeking to deepen its relationship with Morocco since the 2010s. The poor strategic relations between Algiers and Rabat, however, make it difficult, and China has sought to work with both. Politically, China has always focused on diplomatic relations with all countries, and the north African states were among its earliest contacts. Maintaining formal relations with other countries and excluding Taiwan from the world stage are paramount goals for Beijing. At the same time, developing economic relations, not only in accessing resources but also in developing markets are high priorities for China. These countries’ proximity to and access to European markets are also a strong attraction for China. For the Maghreb countries, economic relations with China helps them balance their dependence on their post-colonial and proximate European economies. For Libya and Tunisia, the Arab Spring unrest undid much of China’s political and economic efforts in the early 21st century.