Reflections on neoliberal policy: a critical insight into recent development practices in Egypt and Morocco

For a number of years, western states and international institutions provided financial assistance to the developing countries and promoted solutions to political inequality based on two main principles. The first was related to the notion of economic liberalization, which would unfold the potentials of the market and minimize the role of the state in the economic sphere. The second was that western support to the embryonic civil societies of the developing world would give voice to the populations of these countries and would change the nature of authoritative political regimes. These ideas continue to inform the debate about the development of north African countries. This paper presents and analyzes two nations in north Africa, Egypt and Morocco, in terms of how they exploited the global economic situation and whether they benefited from the openness of the markets. Reference is made to the fact that some political freedoms were initiated in those countries, but they were not democratized. Therefore, the paper critically examines and distinguishes the notion of economic liberalization from the idea of democratization by exploring the ways regimes handled fundamental notions of political equality.