Whatever vision one has of it, the Spanish decision to support the Moroccan autonomy plan for Western Sahara constitutes the most striking diplomatic and political development in the recent history of the situation in the Sahara.
In addition to being of unprecedented historical significance – it is the first time that a European country has supported the Moroccan resolution plan with such clarity and candor – this decision will have significant geostrategic implications for the future of the dialogue. The fact that Spain was the occupying state of the Moroccan Sahara until 1975, that it signed an agreement with Morocco in which it agreed to return the Sahara to its motherland, and that it did not never vetoed this agreement, makes Madrid’s new position particularly important and strengthens the Moroccan position even more.
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Moreover, it goes without saying that, for Algeria, the Spanish decision is a disastrous development for two interrelated reasons. First, Madrid’s support for Rabat is a painful reminder of the failure of Algerian diplomacy’s tireless efforts to sabotage or at least contain the undeniably pro-Moroccan momentum that Western Sahara-related diplomacy has enjoyed over the past decade. Secondly, not only has Algeria lost a former accomplice in Spain with whom it used to associate to undermine Moroccan interests, but the domino effect that the Spanish decision will certainly trigger is a blow to ambitions regional hegemons of Algeria.
