{"id":7064,"date":"2025-12-20T16:09:53","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T16:09:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/middleeastandnorthafricablog\/?p=7064"},"modified":"2025-12-20T16:09:53","modified_gmt":"2025-12-20T16:09:53","slug":"us-encourages-investments-in-morocco-ruled-western-sahara","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/middleeastandnorthafricablog\/2025\/12\/20\/us-encourages-investments-in-morocco-ruled-western-sahara\/","title":{"rendered":"US encourages investments in Morocco-ruled Western Sahara"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/africa\/us-encourages-investments-morocco-ruled-western-sahara-2025-09-25\">https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/africa\/us-encourages-investments-morocco-ruled-western-sahara-2025-09-25<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Summary:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said that the US supports investment in Western Sahara: a territory managed by Morocco yet claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which is seeking independence. Landau stated that US companies will be supported in doing business with the entirety of Morocco, including Western Sahara. This push comes from a broader shift in international positions and alliances, especially in the US under the Trump administration. The UK and France are following the US. However, the Polisario Front is criticizing the Western backing because they oppose the Moroccan autonomy plan that keeps Western Sahara a part of Morocco with limited regional self-government.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Analysis:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Front strongly opposes this because it infringes upon citizens\u2019 basic right to self-determination; the UN called the conflict \u201clow-intensity\u201d because there\u2019s no large-scale war. The thing about combining sociopolitical tension with increasingly successful regional industries (like energy and oil) is that you\u2019re bound to get a profitable war that leaves citizens as collateral damage; there\u2019s also a potential for this area to face conflicts similar to those in Yemen: a country torn by two entities who benefitted from the exploitation of social cleavages (like race and religion) and a lack of true autonomy. Even if the UN can do something about it, there\u2019s the debate about how powerful IGOs are because their demands often have no weight behind it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because the US is promoting investments in renewable energy (solar\/wind power), this could mean many things for the region. However, it\u2019s important to recognize <em>why<\/em> the US is supporting Morocco: they are appreciative of Morocco\u2019s efforts towards democratization, and Moroccan audiences can help them influence the rest of Africa\u2013which has become a significant player as the US-Russia-China rivalry continues. The increase in Western investments will cause tension within the region (like against Algeria\u2014who\u2019s already on the opposite side of dividing issues), and this tension will cause widespread social movements that mimic the Arab Spring. The focus on renewable energy foreshadows a diversification of the labor force as this increasingly developed industry will create many new jobs that require different specialized skills. We know that states are the key stakeholders here, but it\u2019ll be interesting to see how MNCs collaborate with other companies as well as Morocco should they choose to build or invest in anything. It\u2019ll also be interesting to watch if the Western Saharans fight back to gain autonomy and how Morocco\u2019s plan will impact North African interdependence going forward. Smart power will definitely play an important role in this situation because the combination of hard power (via international regulations and sanctions) and soft power (via cultural assimilation or propaganda supporting the shift in energy sources) will impact that shift in alliances.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Class Connection:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This article connects to the class because it relates to issues regarding interdependence, IGOs and states. Furthermore, this theme connects to power; it also brings up the debate about the legitimacy of the IGOS when it comes to dealing with potential altercations like these.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/africa\/us-encourages-investments-morocco-ruled-western-sahara-2025-09-25 Summary: The US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said that the US supports investment in Western Sahara: a territory managed by Morocco yet claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which is seeking independence. Landau stated that US companies will be supported in doing business with the entirety of Morocco, including Western Sahara. This push comes from a broader&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/middleeastandnorthafricablog\/2025\/12\/20\/us-encourages-investments-in-morocco-ruled-western-sahara\/\">Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":319,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/middleeastandnorthafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/middleeastandnorthafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/middleeastandnorthafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/middleeastandnorthafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/319"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/middleeastandnorthafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7064"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/middleeastandnorthafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7064\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7065,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/middleeastandnorthafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7064\/revisions\/7065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/middleeastandnorthafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/middleeastandnorthafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/middleeastandnorthafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}