The Influence of Diplomatic and Foreign Policy Considerations in the Making of Migration and Asylum Policy in Morocco

Abstract

Can the management of transnational migration and asylum be used as an instrument of foreign policy? From labour market needs to legal issues, electoral pressure, and financial and commercial interests, the scholarly literature on the drivers of migration policy in both the North and the South has focused primarily on domestic factors. The case of Morocco offers a useful additional perspective. The security-orientated and restrictive policy toward transmigrants applied in the 2000s gave way, in 2013, to a new approach that was much more welcoming and mindful of migrant integration. Since Morocco’s independence in 1956, asylum management has been driven exclusively by security and political objectives. Although it has never had a national asylum system, Morocco has officially taken the initiative to establish a system that complies with its international commitments in asylum. By taking a Moroccan perspective on the situation, this article examines the management of migration and asylum by a country of the Global South with a multifaceted migration profile (as a country that is simultaneously one of emigration, transit, and immigration). It shows that Morocco’s change in migration policy is a reflection of its evolving foreign policy.