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Vol 66 No 2

Published 24th January 2025


Realpolitik and angry neighbours

The Maghreb’s sparring giants vie for influence as the Western Sahara stand-off dominates regional ties

With no sign of a thaw in the cold war between Algeria and Morocco, the Maghreb region will remain gripped by their stand-off and the Western Sahara dispute. The Maghreb nations’ external relations will be shaped by realpolitik in their dealings with Europe over migration and energy rather than by any softening of borders in the world’s least integrated trading zone, the Union du Maghreb Arabe (UMA). It is one of the world’s most expensive diplomatic fights in terms of opportunity costs.

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