Moroccan Diaspora: How States Use Migrants as Policy

A diaspora is not just a demographic phenomenon: for many states it is also a foreign-policy resource. Morocco is one of the most studied cases, because it institutionalised its relationship with emigrants early on, and because the economic weight of that community is enormous. This guide explains how the Moroccan diaspora is organised and then compares that policy with other countries that have turned their emigrants into instruments of influence.

The approach here is descriptive: what institutions exist, what they do, and what the sources document. Not every diaspora policy is a tool of pressure, and it is worth distinguishing legitimate consular and cultural services from the control or surveillance practices denounced by authorities in host countries.

Morocco: from labour emigration to state policy

Modern Moroccan emigration began with the labour agreements of the 1960s with France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, and later expanded with heavy emigration to Spain and Italy. The Moroccan community abroad today numbers several million people, concentrated mainly in western Europe, with second and third generations already born in their country of residence.

The Moroccan state's response evolved through three phases. In the 1970s and 1980s, political control predominated: surveillance of exiled opposition and the framing of emigrants through associations linked to the state apparatus. Then came a phase of economic outreach, with banks, investment incentives and facilities for remittance transfers. Since the 2000s, an institutional phase has taken hold, with permanent bodies dedicated to the community abroad.

• Fondation Hassan II pour les Marocains Résidant à l'Étranger (1990): cultural, educational and legal support, Arabic teaching and summer programmes.
• Delegate ministry for Moroccans living abroad: administrative and consular management.
• Conseil de la communauté marocaine à l'étranger (CCME, 2007): advisory body, recognised in the 2011 Constitution.
• 2011 Constitution: recognises political participation rights and protection for Moroccans abroad.
• A consular and mosque network with imams trained and sent from Morocco under bilateral agreements.

The economic weight: remittances

The strongest link is financial. According to World Bank data, Morocco consistently ranks among the top remittance recipients in Africa and the Arab world, with annual flows in the tens of billions of dirhams that comfortably exceed foreign direct investment and rival major export sectors. These transfers sustain consumption, housing and small businesses in regions of heavy emigration.

The political consequence is direct: an economically decisive community is also one worth keeping engaged. Hence the annual summer-return welcome campaigns, specialised banking services, and the institutional insistence on dual belonging.

Diasporas as a tool: the comparative pattern

Political scientist Francesco Ragazzi and geographer Alan Gamlen have shown that the creation of "diaspora institutions" — ministries, councils, agencies — became widespread across dozens of countries over the past three decades. The objectives recur: capturing remittances and investment, mobilising diplomatic support in host countries, controlling exiled opposition, and projecting culture and language.

Turkey

Turkey combines a state agency for Turks abroad with a dense network of cultural and religious associations in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and France. The Turkish external vote is politically significant, and election campaigns have been openly contested in European cities, generating diplomatic friction with several host governments.

China

The Chinese case is documented by academic James To under the term qiaowu: a set of policies aimed at overseas Chinese ranging from encouraging investment and recruiting scientists to cultivating sympathetic associations. European security services have warned in public reports of pressure on dissidents living abroad.

India, Israel, Ireland

India institutionalised its diaspora relationship through an annual day and a special overseas-citizenship status, with an explicit economic and image-building goal. Israel channels its relationship with the Jewish diaspora through the Law of Return and engagement programmes. Ireland is the classic example of a diaspora turned into a nation-branding and cultural-lobbying asset, without a coercive component.

The coercive extreme: Eritrea

The Eritrean case marks the far end of the spectrum. The UN Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea documented in 2015 the 2% tax on the income of Eritreans abroad, payment of which conditions access to documents and basic services, describing it as a mechanism of control over the diaspora.

The underlying lesson is that diasporas today occupy a space between domestic and foreign policy. Recognising this does not mean suspecting migrant communities; it means understanding that states of origin have active policies towards them, ranging from consular assistance to control, depending on the regime and the moment.