“Since 1970, Western Sahara, perched on the Atlantic coast, has been a combat zone. On one side, Morocco has steadily consumed more and more territory and relocated many thousands of its own citizens to populate it. On the other, an insurgent movement called the Polisario Front, representing the area’s ethnic Sahrawi population, has been pushed further and further into the open desert, propped up by a foreign sponsor in Algeria that has never had the strength to truly turn the tide. Today, the Western Sahara conflict appears to be drawing to a close. After fifty-five years of continuous asymmetric warfare, Morocco is poised to achieve the victory it has pursued for so long. After years of accumulating clout and diplomatic momentum, Morocco has managed to put before the Polisario Front an offer that is exceedingly difficult to refuse. If the Polisario raises the white flag, it will not merely have agreed to end the independence movement that its fathers and grandfathers fought for. It will be sending a very clear signal to the rest of the world about how the business of peace gets done in the twenty-first century.” SOURCE: War Fronts
My entire life, the African coast just south of Morocco was always nebulous spot of the map. Sometimes it was referred to as Western Sahara, sometimes Spanish Sahara, maybe shown as controlled by Morocco, but on many global maps, this is one of those infamous places that shows up blank with “no data.” What is the situation is this mysterious place? This video gives not only a solid overview of the historical background, but is the 2026 update that this ambiguity is now solidifying into a new reality; internationally more states are recognizing new situation with this now being recognized as a part of Moroccan territory.
Since 1973, the ethnic Sahwari have been fighting for independence under the banner of the Polisario Front, but when Spain pulled out in 1975 after a century of colonization, Morocco moved into that power vacuum. The Sahwari are a nomadic people in the western Sahara, meaning they control any large population centers with a scattered small population away from the coast in the desert. The 20th and 21 century economic geography has not been to the advantage of traditional nomadic cultures to maintain political prominence as urbanization and industrialization advantages sedentary, specialized societies. Morocco has controlled that majority of the old Spanish Saharan colony, but exerting control over the expansive desert with insurgents is difficult.
Morocco is now using diplomatic means to fully secure all of this territory under their control. With Algeria as the Polisario Front’s only real backer, Morocco has been working on getting recognition from France, Spain, and the United States with some concessions. Morocco now has most countries recognizing it’s sovereignty claims and is offering amnesty to the Sahwaris living in exile to return. While not everything is completely finalized, this looks like a new status quo and the 55 year war front will be closed.
TAGS: Morocco, Middle East and North Africa, war, conflict, political, sovereignty.
QUESTIONS TO PONDER: Why was Morocco able to exert more political power in these lands than the Polisario Front? What does this tell us about political power in the 21st century?
GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION 