Western Saharan and Southern Moroccan Sahrawis: National identity and mobilization

Abstract

One little-addressed issue in studies about Western Sahara is the position of the Sahrawis from southern Morocco and their participation in the independence movement. In recent years, the relocation of the protest initiative to the occupied zones has highlighted the important involvement of this population in Sahrawi collective action. This is not a spillover from the disputed territory, an expansion of the nationalist camp or even a new phenomenon; rather it is a dimension of this movement that has always existed. For the time being, this nationalist mobilization uses the same organizations and has no differentiating discourse. However, the distinctiveness of this Sahrawi nationalism poses significant challenges for both the Moroccan state and the Sahrawi national liberation movement.