The Maghreb

Political, economic, and security trends in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya

While the Maghreb has long been at the margins of U.S. policy in the Middle East and North Africa, trends in this region increasingly reverberate throughout the Middle East. In this new environment, developments in the Maghreb will continue to have an impact both on the broader Middle East and on U.S. interests. The Middle East Program examines changing political, economic, and security trends in the Maghreb—defined here as Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya—through original research and analysis and by convening events that highlight issues of importance in the Maghreb to business and policymaking audiences.

See the Middle East Program's publications and past events on the Maghreb HERE.

 

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Photo: YASSINE MAHJOUB/AFP via Getty Images

Photo: YASSINE MAHJOUB/AFP via Getty Images

The Elected Autocrat: Why Rigged Elections Matter

Autocrats care about the results of their elections. The United States has new opportunities to use recent elections in North Africa and Latin America to push for reform in closed political environments.

Commentary by Martin Pimentel and Rubi Bledsoe — October 23, 2024

See all analysis on the Maghreb

Featured Podcast

A tall tower stands in front of a desert.

Max Gallien: Black Markets of the Maghreb

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Max Gallien, a political scientist specializing in informal and illegal economies and North African politics. He is a research fellow at the Institute of Development Studies and the International Centre for Tax and Development at the University of Sussex. Together, they discuss the political, social, and economic functions of smuggling economies in North Africa. 

Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman, Martin Pimentel, and Will Todman — December 10, 2024

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The Elected Autocrat: Why Rigged Elections Matter

Autocrats care about the results of their elections. The United States has new opportunities to use recent elections in North Africa and Latin America to push for reform in closed political environments.

Commentary by Martin Pimentel and Rubi Bledsoe — October 23, 2024

Political Instability and Environmental Politics in Postrevolutionary Tunisia

Mohamed Omar Kardous, a member of the CSIS environmental civil society in MENA working group, explores Tunisia's political instability and its impact on environmental policy post-2011 revolution, highlighting the challenges and stagnation under President Saied’s tenure.

Commentary by Mohamed Omar Kardous — April 9, 2024

Libya’s Civil Society Crackdown Exacerbates Its Climate Woes

Libyan authorities are trying to silence independent voices in the run-up to planned elections, but the crackdown undermines the work of civil society more broadly. Lubna Yousef and Will Todman argue that this strategy is self-sabotaging.

Commentary by Lubna Yousef and Will Todman — May 2, 2023

Algeria's Poorly Oiled Machine

As Algeria struggles with shortages of cooking oil, politicians have insisted on maintaining strict price controls. Instead, the government is cracking down.

Newsletter by William McChesney — February 22, 2022

Morocco's Sand Mafias

Unregulated sand mining in Morocco is fueling construction of new tourism developments, but it's also threatening the very coastline on which those developments rely.

Newsletter by Fiona Leary — January 12, 2022

Babel: Translating the Middle East

Monica Marks: Tunisia’s Popular Authoritarian

Jon Alterman talks with Monica Marks about Tunisian President Kais Saied's move to consolidate power and what it means for Tunisia.

Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman, Will Todman, and Caleb Harper — September 21, 2021

CSIS Babel

A Coup in Tunisia?

Will Todman addresses the political situation in Tunisia and what President Kais Saied's actions mean for the country's future.

Critical Questions by Will Todman — July 27, 2021

Tunisia

In December 2020, authorities in Sidi Bouzid planned a ceremony to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of Mohammed Bouazizi’s self-immolation.

Report — May 18, 2021