Morocco's strategic shock: when the illusion of Western protection clashes with geopolitical realities
For several decades, Morocco has made a clear strategic choice: to anchor its military and security doctrine within the Western system. Rabat has thus invested heavily in interoperability with NATO armies , multiplied military cooperation agreements with the United States and European powers, and, more recently, deepened its security and technological cooperation with Israel. This orientation was not merely a policy of military modernization. It rested on a fundamental strategic assumption: integration into the Western security architecture would offer Morocco a form of implicit protection in the event of a major crisis. However, recent geopolitical developments in the Middle East—particularly the tensions linked to the confrontation with Iran —have begun to shake this conviction in several regional capitals. The Gulf precedent: costly but limited alliances The Gulf monarchies have invested hundreds of billions of dollars in their strategic relations with the United States. They have...