The party of authenticity and modernity (PAM): trajectory of a political deus ex machine

This article sets out to retrace the genesis and evolution of a new political party in Morocco, which has become within a few months one of the country's strongest political parties and has dominated Moroccan political discourse. However, to date no academic account of this fulgurous rise has been written. This article tries to fill this apparent lacuna in research. After a short sketch of the party's historical trajectory, the party's programme and elite composition shall be the main focus of interest. It will be argued that the PAM reflects both a process of elite change under Mohammed VI and the politicisation of civil society actors and entrepreneurs. Regarding the party's larger role in Moroccan politics, the article proposes to understand the PAM as a possible remedy for the ailing Moroccan political party system and as a bulwark against Islamism.