For years, stability in North Africa has been a dominant policy goal of the international community, driven by concerns about migration, terror and weakened states on Europeʹs doorstep. However, foreign policy approaches on North Africa often suffer from a misunderstanding of what stability means in the region – and risk actively undermining it. The common assumption is that stability in North Africa means a region of governments that are capable of maintaining the status quo. In these times, a stable North Africa cannot mean retaining the status quo at all costs; instead, it should mean that the region is institutionally capable of managing change. Domestically, it has successfully co-opted or repressed any opposition movements that have emerged to challenge the palaceʹs authority.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 05, 2019 10:41 UTC