Let me be the first to welcome Ibn Kafka, whose Francophone blog is extremely interesting to read.

A more substantial reaction later, but I would note on a general basis this is well placed.

Thanks, Lounsbury! A fellow blogger had the courage to sift through the official Moroccan reaction to the hanging, and I must say it must be one of the absolute lamest communiqués I've had the displeasure to read - http://www.blog.ma/obiterdicta/index.php?action=article&id_article=12560 ... I mean, even Moubarak managed to give his comments a weak flavour of criticism...

Quite agreed on the Moroccan perspective - I've taken to using it against those who used to criticize Americans for knowing so little about Morocco.

It is not only Americans who know extremely little of Morocco, even Morocco's fellow Arabs (some Berber activists would hang me for saying this) know very little about the country, which is the second largest of the Arab world populationwise alongside Algeria and well after Egypt. And Moroccans reciprocate when it comes to be ill informed about other countries: this goes even for France, which still has a very forceful cultural and ideological presence in Morocco - most Moroccans have a very sketchy knowledge of French society and politics - I mean, for heaven's sake, they still consider France as a model country!

Hi Ibn Kafka,

I am happy to see that you are a bilingual and bicontinental threat. Good for you!

Provincialism is a universal human attribute.

However, I would not for Ibn Kafka that in terms of doing business with Moroccans, the most frustrating issue is the business class' annoying habit of using France (or rather their vision of France) as their universal reference point for every aspect of a deal, whether from contracting point of view, to ideas re developing exports...

It's bloody frustrating, as (i) too often the French reference point is poorly understood or badly outdated, (ii) may be wildly inappropriate for the actual proposition.

Or with respect to arranging financing deals with an international component, the amazing "plus francais que les francais" approach Moroccan operators show continues to boggle me. Obviously an issue of comfort zone, at the same time it is a queer form of provincialism the elite shows.

I know precisely what you mean, Lounsbury. It infuriates me as a Moroccan, because I've been to other places, mostly better run than France, and having lived in France extensively I have some firsthand knowledge of that country's limitations. It shows you how important education & culture is - the Moroccan elite is mostly educated in the few French schools ("écoles de la mission française") left in Morocco. There, of course, the pupils have a cultural and often linguistic (that is my case, btw) disconnect with the rest of the society. They take in French culture and ideology, and since this is the élite, the middle classes ape them as the wannabes that they are. And this is pervasive, as it not only affect business culture but also political opinions, reading habits, and so on. We need a cultural revolution, but without the Red guards...

Well, I would have to see a revolution as they tend to be bad for business, and I have capital in Morocco.

At the same time the bizarre blinders the Moroccan elite have with respect to models for new legal, business and economic developments remains frustrating - that France remains so myopically the central point of reference in technical areas in finance, e.g. is amazing to me. Not long ago I was arranging to bring in some experts to consult on a project on developing derivative instruments to commercialise in country. My Moroccan clients kept asking me if I couldn't have the entire thing referred off of French models, with a French consultant. I had to push back hard, telling them I was going to bring in a real expert in derivatives, France and la langue de Moliere be damned. Frankly no in finance considers France a terribly good model on any level.

But the moment Moroccans start developing new products, systems or what not in Finance, they run to France - bloody hell even the goddamned French banks (which are possibly among the worst run in developed Europe) don't benchmark off of France!

This is doubly amazing to me as, if you talk to a Moroccan financier -outside of when push comes to shove - he or she will complain about the dominance of the French model, blah blah.... Well, idiot boys and girls, you're the fucking reason because when it comes time to roll up the sleeves and develop initiatives, etc. you run to France.

Fucking amazing.

Mind you Tunisians and Algerians are not really any better, although Tunisian private sector seems to have more anglophones trained and is marginally more adventurous. Marginally.

I should also note that I was amused and absolutely agree re Tel Quel and Le Journal Hebdo - whenever they are cited as shining paragons of liberal values by Westerners, I roll me eyes. Mind you, I agree with many of their positions, but I am also painfully aware of how disconnected they are from "mass Morocco" (or perhaps le maroc populaire); doesn't make them bad per se, but they live in la la land too often.

Tunisian private sector seems to have more anglophones trained and is marginally more adventurous. Marginally.

Emphasis added. Besides, things are changing for the better (less worse?) re Morocco and the worse in Tunisia. Maybe the result of a mixture of Morocco having proportionally more dispora in English speaking countries, being currently more open politically, and the Tunisian private communism shaping mentalities for the last 10 years (de facto monopolies/duopolies created/taken over by a small circle within the president's relatives in virtually every sector).

Ibn Kafka, I just spent a few days in Tunisia btw, and what you're saying about Morocco in your entry equally applies there as well.

Shaheen, you are probably right. It defies sociological reason (much lower illiteracy, substantial middle class) that Morocco should be more liberal in political terms than Tunisia, but there you have it, political science is no pure science.

I suppose protests against the US Middle east policies is one of the very few things around which people mobilise in Tunisia (as well as in Morocco), due to the profound apathy towards local politics found (I presume) in both countries.

It defies sociological reason (much lower illiteracy, substantial middle class) that Morocco should be more liberal in political terms than Tunisia

The explanation is frightinely simple: in the first half of the 90s in Tunisia, the appearance of a significant islamist party in what is a traditionally liberal society, coupled with the examples of Algeria and of Iran triggered a real fear that it might mean the end of their way of life. This lended vast support to a Pinochet style repression against islamists (the president happens to be a general). Due process, civil rights, etc., were not on Tunisian intellectuals radars anymore, security concerns came first and last. Then it went along the poem: First they came for the islamists....

I suppose protests against the US Middle east policies is one of the very few things around which people mobilise in Tunisia (as well as in Morocco), due to the profound apathy towards local politics found (I presume) in both countries.

Actually, it's not just apathy towards local politics. Genuine concerns related to Arab politics in general are strong enough in both countries to indeed move the masses (different surveys place support and identification with pan-arab/muslim policies at around 80-90% in both countries). Middle classes are generally less apathetic about local politics than popular (whose level of sophistication is extremely low) or upper classes (who have less incentives to be active). In the case of Morocco, the middle class isn't numerous enough in proportion, and in the case of Tunisia, being interested in local politics can be unhealthy (think Morocco in the 70s).

the Moroccan elite is mostly educated in the few French schools ("écoles de la mission française")

A good deal of the administration/businesses (and corresponding technocrats and decision makers) was educated in state schools. Ironically, even though mission educated people are much more westernized than the rest, everything being relative they're less blindly francophile (and of course understand French structures much better) than the government educated people who ape them. That includes those who study in France after completing moroccan high school, and who don't have a much better grasp than those who continue in Moroccan universities. (and again, the same applies in Tunisia, though to a slightly lesser degree).

Well placed observation Shaheen Bey.

Besides, things are changing for the better (less worse?) re Morocco and the worse in Tunisia.

I think you're right on that, Morocco is showing signs that it might not piss away, yet again, an opportunity to get on the right track on a combined economic and political growth track - I place primacy on economic of course.

Maybe the result of a mixture of Morocco having proportionally more dispora in English speaking countries, being currently more open politically, and the Tunisian private communism shaping mentalities for the last 10 years (de facto monopolies/duopolies created/taken over by a small circle within the president's relatives in virtually every sector)

Emphasis added.

Right. I have long said that I saw Tunisia as a model, but in the past 5 years this is flagging. In just the past two years I have begun to feel that the Cost-Benefit of the Ben Ali regime had tipped from net positive to net negative.

I am not sure on the diaspora yet - might develop an opening, might not, but with respect to the going forward potential of the economic system, there are some good signs for Morocco (although the country's elite's stunning ability to never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity through time-wasting and fiddle-faddling of the most dilentantish nature never ceases to amaze me).