Bridging the urban-rural divide: Party strategy in Morocco’s Party of Justice and Development (PJD)

This article investigates the spatial patterns of religious parties’ electoral support by addressing the persistent puzzle of why some religious parties are predominantly urban while others achieve deep rural entrenchment. Focusing on Morocco and the Party of Justice and Development (PJD), it argues that weak performance in rural areas stems not from ideological misalignment but from organizational and strategic limitations that constrain its outreach. Drawing on original interview data with party leaders, the study shows how deficiencies in local structures, resistance to candidate-centred campaigning, and the limited resonance of politicized discourse hinder the party’s ability to improve its electoral performance in rural areas. The findings suggest that urban-rural voting patterns are politically construed rather than structurally predetermined, and that parties’ ability to bridge this territorial divide hinges on institutionalizing locally adaptive forms of political organization.