This paper analyses how fundamental transformations of Moroccan society over the past century have shaped Morocco’s mobility complex and how migration has affected and accelerated these... Show moreThis paper analyses how fundamental transformations of Moroccan society over the past century have shaped Morocco’s mobility complex and how migration has affected and accelerated these transformation processes in its own right. Economic transitions and the concomitant demise of subsistence-based agrarian livelihoods, urbanization processes and demographic transitions, increasing education and rapid cultural change have increased all forms of migratory and non-migratory mobility within and from Morocco, particularly through large-scale rural-to-urban migration as well as rapidly increasing emigration to Europe. While earlier patterns seem largely consistent with mobility transition theory, the predicted decrease in emigration levels has not occurred, as, since the 1990s, Morocco has entered a migration plateau of persistently high emigration despite significant increases in living standards, a slowing down of internal migration and increasing immigration. Continuously high levels of emigration can be explained by a growing disjuncture between sluggish and uneven economic development that has mainly benefitted certain regions and economic elites on the one hand, and fast sociocultural change across all social classes and regions on the other. This disjuncture has rapidly increased youth’s aspirations for lifestyles and freedoms that they find difficult to imagine in Morocco, but at the same time reshapes Morocco’s internal mobility patterns and attracts growing numbers of immigrants. Show less
Since the 1960s, Morocco has evolved into one of the world's leading emigration countries and in many ways migration has permeated Morocco's social, cultural and economic life. However, Morocco's... Show moreSince the 1960s, Morocco has evolved into one of the world's leading emigration countries and in many ways migration has permeated Morocco's social, cultural and economic life. However, Morocco's position within Euro-African migration systems seems to be undergoing significant changes since 2000. Although Morocco remains primarily a country of emigration, it is also becoming a destination for migrants and refugees from sub-Saharan Africa and, to some extent, from Europe. The growing presence of immigrants confronts Moroccan society with an entirely new set of social, cultural, political and legal issues around diversity and integration. This special issue explores how continued emigration and increasing immigration is transforming contemporary Moroccan society, with a particular emphasis on the way in which the Moroccan state is dealing with these shifting migratory realities. The analyses highlight how existing migration theories can help to make sense of these transformations and, vice-versa, how the Moroccan case can contribute to migration scholarship. The Moroccan migration experience particularly exemplifies the value and necessity of going beyond Euro-centric biases in migration research that artificially divide the world into 'receiving' and 'sending' countries. Show less
