Towards a ‘new’ Moroccan Capital? Democratisation, diversity politics and the remaking of national space in Rabat

This article addresses the ways in which the Moroccan state’s recent acknowledgement and promotion of cultural diversity has assumed form in the national capital of Rabat. It considers two cases – the official recognition of Amazigh culture and the development of new cultural infrastructure – in order to interrogate how urban restructuring in Rabat has become an expedient for transmitting a new sense of national identity to domestic and international audiences. In doing so, the article critically develops the idea of ‘diversity management regime’ to think about how diversity is operationalised in Rabat, the dimensions that get included and excluded within its remit, and the sorts of challenges it faces in the political arena. The contradictions that underscore Rabat’s transformation into a showcase for a multicultural nation are to be understood in the limits of the democratisation of Moroccan society over the last two decades.