The relationship between Moroccan sainthood and its monarchical counterpart has attracted much attention from researchers in anthropology, religious studies or political science. The analysis of this waltz can offer invaluable insights into the dynamics of Moroccan history because the king and the saint are seen as the two most active actors in this history. Yet, the study of the relationship between these two figures has been an essentialized depiction of a hegemonic and a submissive pair. Hence, the work of Princeton's Moroccan anthropologist Abdellah Hammoudi about the master and the...

Following the much-publicized self-immolation of Muhammad Bouazizi on 18 December 2010, a tempestuous succession of demonstrations, revolutions and civil wars swept the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. These events, collectively referred to as the "Arab Spring," spread contagiously throughout the Middle East and the Maghreb. But instead of ushering in tidy transitions of power in autocratic regimes, the revolutions and uprisings ushered in a state of chaos, which greatly complicates the task of analysts and historians whose job it is to make sense of what has taken place. Will the...