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‘The Moroccan king wants Western Sahara without its people’ : an argument for Western Sahara as a settler colony

Hernández, M. Padrón LU (2025) In Settler Colonial Studies 15(1). p.126-143
Abstract

This paper examines the case of Western Sahara through the lens of settler colonial studies. A former Spanish colony in northern Africa, Western Sahara is most often described as ‘occupied’ by Morocco since 1975. I aim at shifting this narrative by applying settler colonial theory, more specifically Veracini’s concept of transfer, to the relation between Moroccan authorities and the indigenous population. Building on anthropological fieldwork in Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria and interviews with Sahrawis in Algeria, Morocco and Europe, I look at how Sahrawis have experienced a number of transfers whose compounded effect is the gradual elimination of the native population.

Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
anthropology, Morocco, occupation, settler colonialism, transfers, Western Sahara
in
Settler Colonial Studies
volume
15
issue
1
pages
18 pages
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:105016203219
ISSN
2201-473X
DOI
10.1080/2201473X.2025.2456386
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
6734b908-28ae-4f55-864a-9607fa1708d0
date added to LUP
2025-11-11 13:51:02
date last changed
2025-11-11 13:51:28
@article{6734b908-28ae-4f55-864a-9607fa1708d0,
  abstract     = {{<p>This paper examines the case of Western Sahara through the lens of settler colonial studies. A former Spanish colony in northern Africa, Western Sahara is most often described as ‘occupied’ by Morocco since 1975. I aim at shifting this narrative by applying settler colonial theory, more specifically Veracini’s concept of transfer, to the relation between Moroccan authorities and the indigenous population. Building on anthropological fieldwork in Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria and interviews with Sahrawis in Algeria, Morocco and Europe, I look at how Sahrawis have experienced a number of transfers whose compounded effect is the gradual elimination of the native population.</p>}},
  author       = {{Hernández, M. Padrón}},
  issn         = {{2201-473X}},
  keywords     = {{anthropology; Morocco; occupation; settler colonialism; transfers; Western Sahara}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{126--143}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Settler Colonial Studies}},
  title        = {{‘The Moroccan king wants Western Sahara without its people’ : an argument for Western Sahara as a settler colony}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/2201473X.2025.2456386}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/2201473X.2025.2456386}},
  volume       = {{15}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}