Plus ça Change? Observing the Dynamics of Morocco's ‘Arab Spring’ in the High Atlas

This contribution focuses on the ‘Arab Spring’ in Morocco and on the between the mainly urban-based activists that made up the 20 February (F20M), and the population in rural areas. Based on six weeks of fieldwork November 2013 and March 2014, mostly in the areas in and near Marrakech, we find while the urban F20M events stimulated and inspired protests in rural areas, in practice were only sporadic contacts based on the activists’ personal feelings of belonging rather their organizational membership. This is mainly due to discursive disconnects between centre and periphery. As for the outcomes, in particular the new constitution, many believe that nothing has changed so far.