The authoritarian trap in state/media structures in Morocco's political transition

This article explores the complex process of media reforms in political transition in Morocco. A key concern questions the extent to which the media reforms represent a break with the past and are aligned with the stated democratisation ambitions of the state, or alternatively, represent an illustration of the cyclical fluctuation that has characterised the government-media relationship and freedoms of expression and information in general for the past two decades, and which reflects a deeper ambivalence at the core of Moroccan governance of the media. The article provides an account of why the media structure is an uneven playing field with the state having the upper hand.