Using Mobilization Trajectories to Examine Moroccan Youth's Attitudes towards Protest

When feeling dissatisfied with the socio-political and economic situation of the country they live in, why do some people stay and protest, while others migrate, and others again do neither? While existing studies show that protest and migration are both response strategies to discontent, and that protesters and migrants have similar sociodemographic profiles, the initial choice between these two behaviors and their relationship at the individual level needs further investigation. This paper looks at Moroccan youth aged 18-35, Morocco’s largest sociodemographic group, and most likely to engage in protest and migration. Like their counterparts in the North African region, Moroccan youth have emerged as a new political generation, characterized by shared political socialization experiences and grievances, claiming more freedom, dignity, and a more democratic political system. Distinct from previous generations, they have higher educational capital, adopt new forms of political activism, and use of ICT technologies, which makes them more connected within and across borders, and have access to a broader set of networks and information channels. They have directly or indirectly experienced the 2011 uprisings, and have been educated within a failing education system that makes entering the labor market more difficult. Being young in Morocco is now perceived as synonym of exclusion, especially with regards to access to power and decision-making, and of limited opportunities that often push individuals to protest and/or cross borders. Grounded in Hirschman’s Exit, Voice, Loyalty, this paper argues that we can enhance our understanding of how Moroccan youth’s attitudes towards protest develop if we examine voicing discontent in the street and migrating together as alternative, but not equally available, responses to discontent. The paper presents mobilization trajectories as an innovative conceptual tool which allows to observe how young dissatisfied Moroccans negotiate between, protesting, migrating, or doing neither. Through mobilization trajectories we can unpack the process leading to the choice to protest, thus shedding light on the reasons why young Moroccans may, or may not, want to voice their discontent in the streets. Additionally, mobilization trajectories combine protest and migration within the same life-history, thus expanding our grasp on the relationship between the two behaviors, particularly on the impact of past experiences of protest and/or migration on current intentions to protest, leave, or do neither.