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Situations of Contested Legitimacy in Morocco: an Alternative Framework*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 June 2009

Amal Vinogradov
Affiliation:
The University of Michigan
John Waterbury
Affiliation:
The University of Michigan

Extract

In its broadest sense, the theory of segmentation provides an analytic approach to the study of the interaction of political units under conditions of minimal or no regulation by a central authority. Under such circumstances, the groups that inhabit a given territory must devise alternative means of managing conflict within and among themselves, for allocating resources, selecting leaders, and for meeting outside threats. They can neither expect nor rely upon a state apparatus endowed with sufficient coercive means to enforce its decisions and to undertake the functions of regulation, allocation, and protection. Consequently, these functions must be performed through autonomous, internally generated mechanisms arising from the structures and interplay of the groups themselves. There is no need here to explore in detail the theory of segmentation as it has been presented by numerous anthropologists. Suffice it to say that we view segmentary tribal organization as a means of conflict and resource management in the absence of a strong central authority.1 The principles guiding its operation can be extended to analogous, albeit non-tribal, situations of political competition, and it is precisely this extension that we propose to make.

Type
Conflict
Copyright
Copyright © Society for the Comparative Study of Society and History 1971

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References

1 Some useful sociological and anthropological studies of segmentation are: Durkheim, E., De La Division du Travail Social, 7th ed. (Paris, 1960)Google Scholar; Evans-Pritchard, E. E., The Nuer (Oxford, 1940)Google Scholar; Evans-Pritchard, E. E., The Sanusi of Cyranaica (Oxford, 1949)Google Scholar; Sahlins, M. D., ‘The Segmentary Lineage: An Organization of Predatory Expansion’ in Cohen, R. and Middelton, J., eds., Comparative Political Systems (Natural History Press, New York, 1967), pp. 89119Google Scholar; Smith, M. G., ‘Segmentary Lineage Systems’, The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Vol. 86, Part II, 1956, pp. 3981Google Scholar; Easton, D., ‘Political Anthropology’ in Siegel, B. J., ed., Biennial Review of Anthropology, 1959 (Stanford University Press, 1959), pp. 210–62Google Scholar; and Hart, D. M., ‘Segmentary Systems and the Role of the Five Fifth in Tribal Morocco’, Revue de l'Occident Musulman et de la Mediterrannie, Vol. I, No. 3, 1967, pp. 6595.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

2 A considerable body of literature has now built up that would seem to confirm some of our views. See inter alia Landé, Carl, Leaders, Factions and Parties; the Structure of Philippine Politics, Monograph Series # 6, S.E. Asia Studies (Yale, 1965)Google Scholar; Pye, Lucien, Politics, Personality and Nation Building: Burma's Search for Identity (Yale, 1968)Google Scholar; Scott, James, Political Ideology in Malaysia (Yale, 1968)Google Scholar; Geertz, Clifford, ‘The Integrative Revolution’ in Geert, ed., Old Societies and New States (Free Press, 1963), pp. 105–57Google Scholar; Zolberg, Aristide, ‘The Structure of Political Conflict in the New States of Tropical Africa’, American Political Science Review, Vol. LXII, 03 1968, pp. 7087CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Huntington, S. H., Political Order in Changing Societies (Yale, 1968), pp. 2839.Google Scholar

3 We have deliberately avoided the use of the term ‘faction’ despite its currency in the social sciences. Faction is a term with so many definitions as to render it relatively useless. Beyond the fact that a faction forms a part of a larger entity, there is hardly any agreement on its characteristics. The term ‘security group’ at least singles out a common function that helps us past variations in size, composition, and political context of various groups. The conceptual variations involved in the analysis of factions is apparent in Beals, A. R. and Seagal, B., ‘Pervasive Factionalism’, American Anthropologist, Vol. 62, 1960, pp. 394417Google Scholar; Lasswell, H. D. and Kaplan, A., Power and Society (Yale, 1961), pp. 169–74Google Scholar; Lande, , op. cit., pp. 123, 141–47Google Scholar; Miller, D. F., ‘Factions in Indian Village Polities’, Pacific Affairs, Vol. 38, 1965, pp. 1731CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Lewis, Oscar, Village Life in Northern India (Vintage, 1958), pp. 113–56Google Scholar; Nicholas, R. W., ‘Factions, A Comparative Analysis’, in Political Systems and the Distribution of Power, A.S.A. Monograph #2 (London: Tavistock, New York; Praeger, 1965), pp. 2162Google Scholar; Totten, G. O. and Kawakami, Tamio, ‘The Functions of Factionalism in Japanese Polities’, Pacific Affairs, Vol. 38, No. 2, 1965, pp. 109–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

4 For a fascinating analysis of the ‘constant-pie’ outlook, see Scott, James, op. cit., pp. 57150.Google Scholar

5 Coleman, J. in Community Conflict (Free Press, 1956), pp. 1026, shows how the need for consistency in community conflicts in the U.S. leads to polarization and stripping for action. In the politics of scarcity, inconsistency is a device to prevent polarization.Google Scholar

6 See Levine, R. A. on the Gusii of Kenya ‘Socialization, Social Structure, and Intersocietal Images’, in Kelman, H., ed., International Behavior: A Social Psychological Analysis (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965), pp. 4369.Google Scholar

7 Nicholas's analysis of factionalism and Sahlins's analysis of segmentary lineages seem to lead to such a state. Zolberg finds unchecked escalation of group conflict in West African politics. We do not preclude this possibility, but our evidence suggests that mechanisms are spontaneously developed to avoid it.

8 Such practices were often institutionalized in ‘primitive’ societies. See Belshaw, Cyril, Traditional Exchange and Modern Markets (Prentice-Hall, 1965), pp. 1139Google Scholar. For a discussion of contemporary usage, see Riggs, Fred, Administration in Developing Countries: The Theory of Prismatic Society (Boston, 1964), pp. 141–72.Google Scholar

9 For a different interpretation of the same phenomena in Iran, see Zonis, Marvin, ‘Political Elites and Political Cynicism in Iran’ (MESA, Chicago, 1967), unpublished paper, p. 25.Google Scholar

10 On tribal organization in Morocco, see Hart op. cit.; Berque, J., Structures Sociales du Haut-Atlas (Paris, 1955)Google Scholar; Gellner, E., ‘Saints of the High Atlas’, in Pitt-Rivers, J., ed., Mediter-ranean Countrymen (Paris, 1963), pp. 146–58Google Scholar, and How to Live in Anarchy’, The Listener Vol. LIX, No. 1514, 04 3, 1958, pp. 579–83Google Scholar; Montagne, R., Les Berbères et le Makhzan dans le Sud du Maroc (Paris, 1930)Google Scholar; Lesne, M., Les Zemmour (1959).Google Scholar

11 Drague, G., Esquisse de l'Histoire Religieuse du Maroc: Confréries et Zaouiyas (Paris, 1951).Google Scholar

12 On guilds, ulema, and shurfa families see Le Tourreau, R., Fès Avant le Protectorat (Casablanca, 1949).Google Scholar

13 There are a number of pertinent studies of the makhzan under the Alawites: see especially A. al-Nasiri, Kitab al-Istiqça; Lahbabi, M., Le Gouvernement marocain a I'aube du XXe siècle (Rabat, 1958)Google Scholar; Schaar, S., Conflict and Change in Nineteenth Century Morocco (1965)Google Scholar; Terrasse, H., Histoire du Maroc des origines à l'établessement du Protectorat français (Casablanca, 1950)Google Scholar; Weisgerber, F., Au Seuil du Maroc Moderne (Rabat, 1947)Google Scholar. A graphic analysis of the makhzan at its predatory best is provided by Chenier, M. particularly for the period 1670–1780. See The Present State of the Empire of Morocco, 2 vols. (Johnson Reprinting Corp., New York, 1967).Google Scholar

14 The Islamic prototype for the messianic movement is, of course, that of the Prophet Mohammad and the best analysis of the fragility of such movements is still that of Ibn Khaldun.

15 Rustow, Dankwart, Politics and Modernization in the Near East (Princeton Center of International Studies, 1956), p. 17.Google Scholar

16 Pertinent to this discussion is Riggs, Fred, op. cit., and also his analysis of ‘elects’, op. cit. and that of Carl Lande on Philippine factions.Google Scholar

17 This categorization could be extended to analogous situations in othe systems. We have charted an indicative work sheet for Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco covering the last 150 years. See Appendix.

18 Hassan II, the present king of Morocco, had the means as commander-in-chief of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces, when his father died in February of 1961.

19 This process is developed by Deutsch, Karl, Nerves of Government (Free Press, 1966), pp. 120–4.Google Scholar

20 For a good analysis of the meaning of rebellion, revolt, and revolution in various systems, see Johnson's, ChalmersRevolutionary Change (Little Brown, 1966), pp. 140–7.Google Scholar

21 Note that in Pre-Protectorate Morocco, infiltrating the sultan's army did not have much payoff, as the army did not monopolize coercive means in the kingdom.

22 To be discussed in the next section.

23 For more on this challenge, see Weisgerber, F., op. cit., pp. 153209Google Scholar; Brignon, J. et al. ., Histoire clu Maroc (Casablanca, 1967), pp. 321–36.Google Scholar

24 Bou Hmara literally means ‘father or owner of the she-ass’, a nickname he acquired as a result of his travels mounted on a she-ass. Bou Hmara's account is based largely on Arnaud, L., op. cit., pp. 153214Google Scholar; and Aubin, E., op. cit., pp. 108–31.Google Scholar

23 Quoted by Arnaud, L., pp. 172–3.Google Scholar

26 We owe this information to D. M. Hart, personal communication, June 25, 1969. Mr. Hart notes that this little-known encounter in 1908, in effect constituted a dress rehearsal for the Great Rif Revolt of 1922 in which the Waryaghar played a leading part.

27 For a colorful and beautifully written account, see LeGlay, Maurice, La Mort du Rogui (Paris, 1926). In that same year, Moulay Hafidh captured and flogged to death another pretender, Mohammad El Kettani, an Idrisside sharif of Fez who had rallied considerable support among Middle Atlas tribes.Google Scholar

28 The major sources employed in this section are: Montagne, , op. tit., pp. 402–16Google Scholar; Spillman, G., Du Protectorat à l'Indépendance: Maroc 1913–55 (Plon, 1967), pp. 3444Google Scholar; Shinar, Pessah, ‘Abdal-Qadir and Abdal-Karim, Religious Influences on Their Thought and Action’, Studies in Islam, Vol. 1, No. 3, 01 1964, pp. 135–64Google Scholar; Woolman, David, Rebels in the Rif (Stanford, 1968)Google Scholar; Gabrielli, Leon, Abdal-Karim et les évènements du Rif (Casablanca, 1956)Google Scholar; personal communications from Hart, D. M., 05 26 and June 25, 1969Google Scholar. Mr. Hart's forthcoming book, Turbans, Trigger-Fingers, and Tribalism: The Economic, Social, Political and Religious Institutions of the Ait Waryaghar of the Moroccan Rif should give us a definitive study of Abdal-Karim's venture.

29 In 1912, Spain established a protectorate over northern Morocco.

30 There were an additional 45,000 men in the Jebala command to the west.

31 Al Raisouli was well aware of the band-wagon effect, for his own allies in the western Rif were feeling the pull of Abdal-Karim's power. See his perceptive remarks in Forbes, R., El Raisouni, Sultan of the Mountains (London, 1924), p. 313.Google Scholar

32 See Shinar, Pessah, op. tit., Note, p. 156.Google Scholar

33 Ibid., p. 161.

34 See Gabrielli, , op. cit., pp. 42–9.Google Scholar

35 See Gabrielli, , op. cit., p. 57.Google Scholar

35 Spillman, , op. cit., p. 38.Google Scholar

37 For reasons of space, we can hardly do justice to the nationalist movement. Thorough accounts are to be found in: Halstead, J., Rebirth of a Nation: The Origins and Rise of Moroccan Nationalism (Harvard University Press, 1967)Google Scholar; Berque, J., Le Maghreb entre Deux Guerres (Paris, 1962)Google Scholar; Julien, Charles-André, L'Afrique du Nord en Marche (Paris, 1952)Google Scholar; Le Tourneau, Roger, L'Evolution Politique de l'Afrique du Nord Musulman 1920–1961 (Paris, 1962)Google Scholar; Rézette, Robert, Les Parties Politiques Marocains (Paris, 1955)Google Scholar; Cerych, Ladislav, Européens et Marocains 1930–1956: Sociologie d'une Décolonization (Bruges, 1964).Google Scholar

38 For a full account see Halstead, J., op. cit., pp. 178–90Google Scholar; J. and Lacouture, S., Le Maroc a I'Epreuve (Paris, 1957), pp. 8396Google Scholar; and Mekwar, Hadj Ahmad, ‘Exposé of the Struggle of the Za'im from the Founding of the Nationalist Movement until His Exile’ in Twenty Years After the Return of the Za'im of Morocco from Exile (Istiqlal Party, Fez, 1966 [in Arabic]), pp. 6571.Google Scholar

39 Grouped in the Istiqlal party founded in 1944.

40 Thami was the younger brother of Madani el-Glaoui who was instrumental in the downfall of Abdal-Aziz in 1906–8. See on the 1953 episode, Janon, René, Sultan Glawi et Cie. Une Enquệte sur le Drame Marocain de 1953 (Algiers, 1953).Google Scholar

41 On the French reaction to the Moroccan resistance, see Bernard, Stephen, Le Conflit Franco-Marocaln 1943–1956, 3 vols (Brussels, 1963), Vol. 1, pp. 376–82 and Vol. 3, pp. 287–97.Google Scholar

42 On the politics of independence, see Ashford, D. E., Political Change in Morocco (Princeton University Press, 1961)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Zartman, I. W., Morocco: Problems of New Power (Atherton, 1964)Google Scholar; and Destiny of a Dynasty (University of South Carolina Press, 1964)Google Scholar; Le Tourneau, R., op. cit.Google Scholar; and Waterbury, John, The Commander of the Faithful: The Moroccan Political Elite—A Study in Segmented Politics (Weidenfeld & Nicolson and Columbia University Press, 1970).Google Scholar

43 The title the Sultan adopted upon his restoration.

44 On this point, see Flory, Maurice, ‘Le concept de révolution au Maroc’, Revue de I'Occi-dent musulman et de la Méditerranée, No. 5, 1968, pp. 145–52.Google Scholar