The recent waves of diplomatic openings in Laayoune and Dakhla point to an epoch-making shift in paradigm in the Western Sahara dispute

Morocco’s decision to suspend all contacts with the German Embassy and its institutions came as a surprise to the public and the German officials.

The March bore fruits as it led to negotiations between Spain and Morocco, and the signature of the Madrid Accords on November 14, 1975, whereby Western Sahara was peacefully retroceded to Morocco by the colonizing power, Spain.

Morocco, the Polisario, and its patron Algeria are sounding war drums over the Sahara. Is this recent skirmish a threat to regional stability or more posturing?

 The independence discourse on Western Sahara remains one of the most problematic rhetorical undertakings in post-colonial times.

Algeria gained its independence after an armed struggle in which Morocco and Tunisia played a pivotal role. But, after its independence, a military junta turned its back to its neighbors and adopted a territorial consolidation policy based on defending the colonial border legacy.

The opening of diplomatic representations in the Sahara has weakened the argument of the Polisario and Algeria, which claim that no country recognizers Morocco’s sovereignty over the territory.

It is estimated that the gross world product (GWP) will decline over 6% in 2020 from 2019, reducing growth by trillions of dollars, mainly due to the pandemic.

I accompanied scores of delegations of Congressional staff, journalists, and prominent think tank members to Western Sahara over the course of 14 years between 2003 and 2017.