The puzzle of nonviolence in Western Sahara 1

Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony that has been occupied by Morocco since 1975, has seen virtually no violent resistance by the indigenous Sahrawi people since the conclusion of a 1975–1991 war between Morocco and the pro-independence Polisario Front. That lack of violence is puzzling in light of several factors, including the population’s widely attested support for independence, social and economic disparities between Moroccan and Sahrawi inhabitants of the territory, and Morocco’s brutal repression of Sahrawi culture, resistance and expressions of pro-independence sentiment. This article examines the absence of violence and draws lessons from Western Sahara about why some populations resort to violent resistance and others do not, and how best to frame and study resistance. In addition to advancing theories of violence and its absence, this article makes a methodological contribution to the study of resistance movements, and improves our understanding of the Western Sahara Conflict through fieldwork that included approximately 60 interviews with Sahrawi activists conducted in Morocco and Western Sahara during the summer of 2014.