From Activism to Artivism: New Forms of Youth Activism in the Aftermath of 20 February Movement

Like many countries of the MENA region, Morocco has witnessed one of the most vigorous and dynamic youth protest in its modern history during the so-called Arab uprisings. To face this unprecedented form of youth political action, the strategy of the State consisted in containing youth protest by a twofold policy: conducting constitutional reform and trying to de-legitimize the radicals. The Policy Brief analyses what impact this strategy may have had on youth activism in Morocco. It focuses on the way the Moroccan youth movement(s) is adapting to the response of the regime. In this regard, it shows that while the youth movement(s) did not change its strategic objective (parliamentary monarchy) it is progressively changing the means to achieve it.

Paper prepared for the IAI-led Working Package within the framework of the EuroMeSCo project “Euro-Mediterranean Political Research and Dialogue for Inclusive Policy-Making Processes”.