The post-Arab Spring period in Morocco has undergone different stages of changing state-society
relations with regard to democracy, citizenship and human rights. The first stage, between
February 2011 and the summer of 2013, was characterised by popular protests demanding
democracy and freedom. People criticised public policies related to civil, political and social
rights (employment, health, education, the status of women, and the issue of Amazigh). This
outburst put the state in an awkward, defensive position. If we compare Morocco with the other
Arab Spring countries, the Moroccan state’s reaction was moderate in its use of violence and
repression, and it was positive, in that it resulted in the implicit, yet official acceptance of the
demands for democracy, citizenship and battling corruption. In his speech on 9 March 2011, the
king pledged to modify the Constitution and democratise the institutions
