Julio Crespo MacLennan is a historian specialising in worldwide relations and a author. He has revealed seven books, has lectured in additional than 30 international locations and has additionally participated in numerous worldwide boards. He first specialised in trendy Spanish historical past as a member of the Oxford Faculty of Historians. Subsequently, he targeted on comparative imperial historical past, the legacy of Europe on the earth and the historical past of liberalism and democracy.
His most up-to-date e book ‘How Europe formed the trendy world’ (2018) was critically acclaimed and was lately revealed in China. The previous vice-president of the European Union Affiliation of Nationwide Cultural Institute (EUNIC) and former director of the Cervantes Institutes in London and Istanbul is presently engaged on the historical past of democracy from Antiquity to the twenty first century.
Atalayar had the chance to speak to Julio Crespo MacLennan, on the event of the occasion ‘Maghreb Dealing with the Challenges and Alternatives of the twenty first Century’, to analyse the essential dimension that Morocco presently has as an essential axis in Africa, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.
How might the Sahara autonomy plan assist in the consolidation of peace and stability within the Maghreb and the event of the Mediterranean?
On the Sahara situation, there are a number of challenges; I hope that this can go effectively for the Moroccan trigger and above all that it’s going to assist in the long term to resolve the battle with Algeria; though in the intervening time the scenario is tough. The US, as an awesome ally, took a vital step with its assist for Morocco’s territorial claims, which is the turning level. It’s basic, and so is Spain.
Morocco’s initiative is essential in guaranteeing stability and improvement within the area, which is essential, however then there are the good challenges of the twenty first century that affect all international locations and the geopolitical panorama normally.
What challenges will Morocco face within the wrestle for its territorial integrity on its technique to convincing extra international locations of the legitimacy of its declare?
Morocco is certainly combating for its territorial integrity and that is the traditional and legit factor to do; there are additionally the good world challenges that may take Morocco a lot additional and make it the chief of Africa.
It’s the gateway to Africa and the axis between Africa and the Mediterranean, between the Mediterranean world and the Atlantic world, which might elevate Morocco internationally in a unprecedented manner. The secret is to play in these three situations through which Morocco is exclusive as a result of no different African nation has these three dimensions: Africa, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.
Given the challenges of the twenty first century, I imagine that the connection with the European Union shall be essential in assembly these challenges. Africa is of curiosity to the European Union; how it’s in its curiosity that Morocco evolves right into a key producer and producer within the Atlantic space.
We now have skilled an essential phenomenon, because the Nineties, through which China has taken off as an awesome energy and has develop into a world manufacturing facility, and at this second, many nice powers (america or the EU) are asking if we will proceed like this.
Producing regionally is the answer. We realised, within the pandemic, how harmful it’s to rely on manufacturing that’s too distant geographically; that has led many to imbalances. I imagine that one technique to rebalance the Mediterranean space between Europe and Africa is exactly for Morocco to develop into an important producer of manufactures. That’s one in all my concepts of Morocco for the following three many years; I’ve one other, which is that Morocco have to be a cultural and scientific energy and it has the belongings to develop into that because the chief of the Arab world and likewise probably the most open nation in Africa to Europe.
You will have adopted Morocco’s efforts in your continent: investments in numerous financial sectors and ambassador of average Islam to make sure peace and stability in numerous African international locations. How do you assess these efforts of the Kingdom?
I feel that is very exceptional, it’s attention-grabbing since you see Morocco’s rising function in Africa in numerous sectors. You must return to 1945 with the Casablanca Accords, the place Morocco is already main and saying: ‘We need to lead Africa on this new period of decolonisation and post-war Africa’. We’re witnessing how Morocco has been opening up and turning into a hub for the economies of many of those international locations (with a complete of 30) the place a number of Moroccan firms (banks, insurance coverage, telecommunication and OCP…and so forth.) have settled.
I feel it is rather constructive to see Morocco taking part in such an attention-grabbing function and what you might have stated about average Islamism; in an period the place there’s numerous fanaticism worldwide and since there needs to be an understanding between completely different cultures and completely different religions and, on this sense, Morocco has additionally been an instance.
We now have seen how Morocco has taken a number of initiatives and made many efforts to keep up good neighbourliness with Algeria, however in useless. How do you see the Algerian place on this context?
I feel Algeria’s place appears to me to be intransigent and uncooperative in that sense and it wants to vary, as a result of Algeria has had many privileges because it gained its independence.
It’s extraordinary the way it has managed to have a territory that’s the largest in Africa and but it has all the time had conflicts with all its neighbours. On this sense, I imagine that the Sahara situation ought to be seen as a compensation to Morocco that in some way results in peace between the 2 international locations, which is within the pursuits of each international locations and the area as a complete.
After all, proper now I do not see a lot prospect of resolving this battle, however crucial factor is to keep up the dialogue and to consider whether or not something is helpful. Since we launched the method of political and financial integration of the European Union, it has gone by means of a really unhealthy time through which we have been popping out of a world conflict through which the hatred between European nations was monumental, the hatred between the French and Germans within the Forties was larger than the hatred between Algerians and Morocco. This led us to assume that we have now to beat these issues to realize an integration that ultimately will strengthen us all. That is an instance that I feel ought to be taken into consideration.
