Morocco Between The Hammer of Bureaucrats And the Anvil Of Machiavellians

Niccolo Machiavelli

What is Machiavellianism? It is defined as any means (however unscrupulous) can be used by rulers or leaders in order to create and maintain their autocratic way of governing. While bureaucracy is defines as a system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected representatives, let us briefly cover how bureaucracy and Machiavellianism affect the structure of governing and policymaking.

In a sense, many political scholars have highlighted that “policy is the aspect of politics that concerns most people. In crude terms, policy consists of the “outputs” of the political process. It reflects the impact of government on society; that is, its ability to make things better or make things worse. As government has grown and the breadth of its responsibilities has expanded, bureaucracies have come to play an increasingly important role in political life. No longer can civil servants be dismissed as mere administrators or policy implementers; instead, they may dominate the policy process, and even, sometimes, run their countries. A reality of ‘rule by the officials’ may thus lie behind the façade of representation and democratic accountability. The control of bureaucratic power is therefore one of the most pressing problems in modern politics, and one that no political system has found easy to solve.

When it comes to Machiavellianism, it is simply putting in place certain immoral and vicious values and morals in order to deceive others. Those vicious values can include, but not limited to, manipulation, narcissism, cunning and duplicity. Machiavellians would love to be loved but not on the expense of being feared and/or respected, they often use the ends to justify the means, but most importantly, they do not usually reveal the entire and/or real reason they are doing something unless it is somehow advantageous to them. That is the scary part!

There is no country immune, entirely or partially, from bureaucrats and Machiavellians, and Morocco is no different from any other nation suffering under this global epidemic. Moroccan officials like to enforce, directly or indirectly, that bureaucracy is one of the main causes of government’s growth. They even claim that government bureaucracies possess an “inherent tendency to expand”. They do not often make this type of statements publicly, but they make sure that Moroccans receive the message somehow. The reason being is this: government officials bent on their own career advancement are always pushing to increase their power and their budgets. It looks like bureaucracies are becoming nowadays ever growing and ever expanding like a cancer, with a worryingly destructive effects. One thing for a fact is that bureaucracies are constantly eating up more taxpayers’ money and imposing more and more rules on Moroccans.

While bureaucrats in Morocco have no shame, in many cases, to hide their lust for power and fame, Machiavellians seem to suffer from schizophrenia, and have no shame to live in denial while they are in constant attempts to influence the public by, what they believe, their good deeds and will to promote and work for good causes. Indeed, for Machiavelli the end of politics is power’s conquest and maintenance, which is a work of art to be performed. On the contrary, according to the nature of things, the end of politics is the common good of a united people; which end is essentially something concretely human, therefore something ethical. However, is this the case of modern Machiavellians and more especially the Moroccan ones? One thing I know for sure is that those Moroccan Machiavellians make sure that they get it and they would not care less what type of damage, whether intentional or collateral, they might leave behind. They make sure that they, and their entourage and sympathizers, thrive and achieve what they have always sought.

I have tried to analyze the psychology of whoever uses any mean for personal gains and on the expense of, what is at times regarded, national matters. I realized that the vast majority of Machiavellians and opportunists are those who could not achieve greater goals in their lives using legitimate means and methods. Understanding the social structure of the Moroccan society, it is usually the least known individual who exploits on his country and uses his fellow compatriots to earn a place within the upper category of the society, usually using cunning methods to do so. They are masters in deceiving others. They usually appear in an Angelic and innocent demeanor while hiding their true selves beneath.

Now, how Morocco and Moroccans struggle under these two vicious influential participants in the policymaking? The answer is so simple. There is a minimal to a no greater development for the two. It appears that there is a lot achieved under the leadership of these two cunning public players, but in reality, what we see at times is not what it really is. They are perfect mentalists and illusionists; they are good at making most of us believe that they are truly and genuinely in constant quest to serve their country and make Moroccans prosper, while they keep their personal agendas well hidden. They are good at turning the chain of events to make them look the key players in achieving outstanding and unprecedented results. They are simply savage wolves covered in lambskin. Fact.

The $20 Million scandal or the “Gabriel-Gate”, which is how I would like to call it, and which I wrote about it few months back, has stripped the truth naked. It exposed those who have been milking Morocco as if it is a healthy Dutch cow. Moroccan American Center for Policies (MACP) is just a drop in mug full of Machiavellians. MACP and its associates from Moroccan opportunists in Washington area have been, for decades, deceiving both Morocco and taxpayers as well as ordinary Moroccans who placed their faith in them. The Washington area is infested with those who can use any mean to prosper, and they even extended their network to Spain and Italy and many other European countries. They are now a global network, and of course, they have their associates back in Morocco who, themselves, benefit from any deal or grants paid to their accounts to be used for the “promotion of the country and community outreach”.

It is indeed a vicious network, and it will give me chills if I learn that no one or no entity is fully aware of it within the Moroccan hierarchy. I do believe that there is a large conspiracy against Moroccan national interests by those “ghosts” who possess power within the political institutions of the country. This entire fiasco of “Gabriel-Gate” makes Moroccan government look like the house of Borgia, and it looks like the entire Morocco now is taking a big role in Godfather IV! This means that they are eating themselves from within without realizing it, while using any means or methods to conspire against ordinary and humble citizens. The good news is, these vicious political viruses are running out of ideas now, and they feel their end is nearing. The show is almost over. They are trying to salvage what they can, but the damage is already done and those who fell victims for their illusions began to realize how the concept of politics and policymaking has been changing. People realize now that they were systematically brainwashed and were put to sleep in a clever way, while they were robbed of the most precious thing any person can possess: dignity.

it is so deceiving to encounter many who exploit on many national issues and people’s sufferings to thrive, to seek fame and to make a name for themselves. They are masters of hypocrisy and deception. I just wonder how they can sleep at night knowing that they are fooling their fellow compatriots, not only that, they are betraying their country and their king who entrusted them to take care of national issues rather than thriving in a cheap and a despicable manner.

All in all, it is about time that Moroccan civil societies shake the dust off their backs, the new Moroccan laws preserve citizens’ right to expose all those who are deceiving the nation and dragging the country to uncertainty. The era of fear and intimidation has long gone, dead and buried. People ought to decide where to position themselves. Whether be followers or take the initiative to change their way of life, although I am fully aware that it is always down to a very few to change the course of life for the many, however, I am being optimistic and the future looks certainly a lot brighter than the darker days we are enduring now.

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Dr.Mourad Beni-ich is a Political, Intelligence & Strategic Analyst based in Washington, DC. Mr.Beni-ich holds a BA in Law, a BA in Political Sciences, a MA in Security and Intelligence Analyses, a MA in Global Terrorism and a PhD in International Politics. His studies were pursued in England and the U.S. Mr.Beni-ich began his career as a lawyer working for the British Home Office (The Ministry of Interior) as well as The British Foreign Office. Mr.Beni-ich gave many lectures in the United States regarding the current affairs in the MENA region, both in universities and organizations. Mr. Beni-ich is currently based in Washington, DC where he lobbies for the Moroccan affairs and coordinates with many U.S. officials and Think-Tanks to promote Morocco’s interests, both in the United States and Morocco. You can follow him on Twitter at: @MonarchKnight[/symple_box]