Morocco’s “confident” and “daring” foreign policy is fueling Algeria’s “perception of growing insecurity” as Rabat continues to make diplomatic strides in the Sahara dispute, according to a recent report from the International Crisis Group, a prominent global think tank.
Rooted in historical disputes and strategic disagreements, the rift between the two neighbors has heightened over the years, with the Sahara dispute at the center of their ongoing rivalry.
Morocco’s diplomatic efforts, culminating in the US recognition of the kingdom’s sovereignty over its southern territories in 2020, have “deeply destabilized” Algeria, according to the report. The US’s support for Morocco’s position has undermined Algeria’s strategy of promoting separatism in the region by financing and harboring the Polisario Front, an armed militia with known ties to terrorist organizations operating in the Sahel.
Algeria retaliated against Rabat’s growing influence on the global stage by cutting diplomatic ties with Morocco in August 2021. Meanwhile, the Polisario, after having pulled out of the 29-year-old ceasefire agreement, attempted multiple terrorist attacks in the Sahara region including a rocket attack on the Moroccan city of Smara in October 2023.
With Trump returning to the White House in just a matter of days, Algiers’ unease is mounting, according to the think tank report. It was under Trump’s previous administration that the US reversed 30 years of foreign policy and recognized Morocco’s sovereignty as part of the Abraham Accords.
“The risk is that, with Washington unlikely to play the same calming role as before,” the author warned, “the security repercussions of future incidents will become harder to manage.”
The International Crisis Group is an independent organization with consultants and staff around the globe that is “working to prevent wars and shape policies that build a more peaceful world,” according to its website.