Thèse soutenue!

Le GreGam est heureux de vous annoncer qu'une de ses membres, Julie Pruzan-Jorgensen,
a soutenu sa thèse ce 11 juin 2010 à l'Université de Copenhague. Toutes nos félicitations au Docteure Pruzan-Jorgensen!

Titre : Liberalizing Autocracy at Work. Intra-Oppositional Dynamics and Regime Legitimation during the Moroccan Moudawana Reform

Résumé : Based on an in-depth case-study of the political process which recently resulted in the controversial reform of Moroccan family law (the Moudawana) the study sheds light on how this unprecedented process of political liberalization seemingly contributed to the resilience (rather than the demise) of authoritarianism in Morocco.

Relying on substantial empirical material in the form of reform narratives of varying Moroccan actors involved in the process and based on a new inside and bottom-up analytical approach, the study notably provides insights into dynamics of oppositional ‘self-management’ and popular perceptions of regime legitimacy during the process. These insights are in turn used to explain how the Moroccan Palace overcame the risks inherent in ‘the king’s dilemma’ and seemingly came out strengthened from this extremely dynamic and risky process of political liberalization. The study not only contributes to the study of modern Moroccan political history by providing new insights into one of its arguably most intriguing and decisive moments but also contributes l to the further substantiation of the recent so-called post-democratization perspective by providing new insights into the interplay between processes of political liberalization and the resilience of authoritarianism in the Arab Middle East.