Estructura de poder y desafíos populares. La respuesta del régimen Marroquí al movimiento 20 de Febrero

Popular uprisings in the Arab world have had very different characteristics and trajectories, including different responses by regimes in power and varied provisional outcomes. In this paper we take into consideration the structure of power (power regime), to complement an analysis focused on the political system, as a significant factor in explanations of these uprisings. Our hypothesis is that in a situation of social mobilization, the regime’s power structure directly affects its response (strategy) and its chance of survival (control of resources and capabilities) — as does the mobilization’s configuration and dynamics. Thus, understanding the configuration of power in Morocco (a system with concentrated elites and diversified resources) is essential for explaining the dynamics characterising both the regime and social movements since the emergence of the February 20th Movement.