The constitutional reforms undertaken by Morocco since the 2011 protests have modified legislative and institutional procedures, yet their real impact on governance needs to be assessed.

In this new paper, Mohamed Benhlal analyzes Morocco’s recent constitutional amendments, which seemed, on paper, to make significance progress towards good governance. However, basing his analysis on governance indicators such as the Worldwide Governance Indicators and components of the Arab Democracy Index, Benhlal points out that the practice of governance of Morocco is not as positive as claimed in the political discourse. He notes an excessive focus on laws and institutional procedures that do not translate into the necessary transformation in the status of governance and the nature of the Moroccan political regime.

Benhlal makes important recommendations about political oversight, implementation of the rule of law and anti-corruption measures to ensure that these constitutional amendments will be more than a veil of good governance.