In the mysteries of hesitant development and the pitfalls encountered by research in political science in Morocco, the discipline still seems to be searching for its identity, underlines a recent study published in the 7th edition of the magazine “Political Tendances”. Called “The journey of scientific research in political science at Moroccan universities: global overview”, the study published in the March 2024 edition of the magazine “Political Trends” of the Arab Democratic Center for Strategic, Economic and Political Studies, indicates that despite almost half a century of teaching in Moroccan universities, research in political science in Morocco is still struggling to clearly define its identity. Mainly anchored in law faculties, this discipline adopts a legal approach to interpret political phenomena, which slows down its evolution. Additionally, challenges such as academic freedom of researchers hamper policy research in the Arab region. In detail, researcher Tahajoub Bouguerioune explains that the progression of academic production in political science in Morocco has been noted in terms of volume, largely due to the increase in the number of students in Moroccan universities. However, this accumulation of knowledge and research still suffers from the lack of creativity in the proposals and authenticity in the approach to political phenomena, according to the methods of modern and critical analysis. This gap, according to the study, calls into question the central role of the university as a source of knowledge to explain the political environment and contribute to the development of research and political education. Concerning research activities and centers in the Kingdom, the study specifies that around 30 research centers were recognized in 2012, thus placing Morocco fourth in the Arab world at this level. However, these institutions face, in the Arab world in general, a democratic blockage which makes independent research non-existent in a free intellectual environment, thus marginalizing research efforts in the process of decision-making and policy formulation. The researcher also points out that university research policies in general were very bad and were based on old methods in political science, thus showing a failure to meet the demands of contemporary knowledge. She considered that if academic freedom is one of the foundations of serious scientific research in political science, the independent financial support of researchers and the enrichment of university libraries with scientific sources of great intellectual value are just as important. Furthermore, the study notes that the specialization in political science must also offer employment opportunities, since it is observed that a large part of graduates in legal and political sciences do not find university careers as professors, but most work in fields far from politics, joining political movements or civil associations, among others.
source: fr.hespress.com
