Securitisation dynamics and COVID-19 politics in Morocco: Old wine in new bottles?

This chapter explores how the emergence of an unexpected and non-traditional security threat such as the COVID-19 pandemic has affected Morocco’s national politics. The main argument is that the management of the crisis can be framed as a ‘securitisation process’ capitalised on by the Palace and corroborating the traditional logics of governance in the country. As a result, the asymmetry between non-elected institutions (the Palace) and the elected ones (parliament above all) increased. Our contribution also posits that the emergency measures and dynamics strengthened the enduring technocratisation process of politics and securitised freedom of expression to ensure compliance with mainstream narratives. Moving from a theoretical reflection on securitisation, the chapter first points to the discursive framing of COVID-19 as a ‘security threat’ to both citizens and the nation through the analysis of royal speeches. It then illustrates the key initiatives enacted to face the pandemic and gravitating around the king whilst other players jumped on the bandwagon.