The media's construction of a new stage in relations between Spain and Morocco
When we ask ourselves about the role played by the Spanish and Moroccan media in this new stage of Spanish-Moroccan relations, we start from the postulate that there is a before and an after in these relations, and that the fact that the two partner and neighbouring countries have recently managed to inaugurate a new stage in their relations is not simply a communicative formula for managing the situation, but a palpable and indisputable reality.
We recall that the entry into this new stage of relations between Spain and Morocco was solemnly announced and welcomed by senior officials of the two states, as well as institutionalised by means of a road map, a joint declaration and some twenty memoranda. While in the common diplomatic discourse, the end of the crisis is effective and the opening of this new stage brings a promising paradigm shift, this is not always the case in the media discourse.
Turning the page, regaining trust, re-establishing political dialogue, and holding a successful High Level Meeting are the key terms in the discursive construction of a new stage in bilateral relations between Spain and Morocco. When we speak here of discursive construction, we refer to the articulation of forms and meanings in diplomatic discourse in such a way as to produce statements that make it possible to recreate facts and generate meaning by discursive means.
The theory of the social construction of reality (Berger and Luckmann) is very relevant in this context, because it tries to show that all reality is socially constructed and that the task of the sociology of knowledge is to analyse the processes through which reality is socially constructed. Thus, we can say that the diplomatic discourse produced by diplomats and statesmen in a given time and country is constituted as a creator of meaning and representation of international relations.
From this perspective, Spanish-Moroccan diplomatic discourse, articulating realities and producing institutional legitimacy, is itself transformed into a political and therefore historical fact, whose importance is due to its function of shaping and legitimising bilateral interactions between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Kingdom of Spain. This means that the reality of the new stage of relations between Spain and Morocco is to be found in the process of discursive construction which, through diplomatic, media or academic discourse, produces through language a series of interpretations and representations of the information received.
We are faced with two types of discourse, diplomatic and media discourse, and if with the former we admit the existence of a new stage of transparent political dialogue and advanced economic association, with the latter we ask the following question: what does media discourse do with diplomatic discourse, or in other words, how is media discourse articulated with diplomatic discourse in the treatment of the latest events in the relations between Morocco and Spain?
In general, diplomatic discourse tends to fascinate the media, which nevertheless trivialise it, even ridicule it, often preferring to flatter "common sense" when they mediatise the words of diplomats.
In both Spain and Morocco, the media played a fundamental role in informing public opinion about sensitive moments in their relations, including during the crisis caused by the reception of the leader of the separatist gang, as well as following the new perspective opened up by the letter from President Pedro Sánchez to King Mohammed VI. What precisely was the role played by the media in this regard?
With the aim of examining whether journalists on both sides, when covering the events, took into account the word of the diplomats and more precisely the meaning of their discourse, this intervention attempts to propose some ways of analysing the discursive strategies used in the discourse of the Moroccan and Spanish media with regard to the new start in relations between the two kingdoms. But first I would like to draw your attention to the role of a fundamental concept in these strategies, namely the concept of trust, which seems to me to constitute a founding element in the discursive construction of this new stage in the development of Spanish-Moroccan relations.
Kant said in his brief writing "Perpetual Peace" published in 1795 that "no treaty of peace should be considered valid which has been concluded with the secret reservation about some cause of war in the future". Such a treaty would in fact be a suspension of arms, a postponement of hostilities, and not peace, which means the end of all hostilities. For Kant, the existing causes for a war in the future must be destroyed as a whole by the peace treaty. The reservation of old claims to which neither side makes any mention at the time of the treaty, with the perverse intention of seizing the first opportunity in the future for this purpose, does not correspond in the opinion of the German philosopher to the dignity of rulers.
Borrowing this idea from Kant, who emphasises the value of the diplomacy of transparency and trust against the practice of hidden agendas, we can say that Morocco and Spain, faced with the risk of taking unilateral decisions that could provoke conflicts in the future, decided to adopt, at the end of the in-depth talks between His Majesty King Mohammed VI and the Spanish President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, a road map designed to (first) eliminate any possibility of conflict that could jeopardise the bilateral relationship in the future, and (second) promote the construction of a new stage 'based on the principles of transparency, permanent dialogue, mutual respect and respect and implementation of the commitments and agreements signed by both parties'.
It should be recalled that the spirit of this new stage is based on two fundamental references, first the philosophy of the new stage responds to the call of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, in his speech to the nation on the occasion of the 68th anniversary of the Revolution of the King and the People, to "inaugurate a new unprecedented stage in relations between the two countries, based on trust, transparency, mutual respect and honour of commitment", what is clear from this paragraph of the royal speech is that the new paradigm of Spanish-Moroccan relations was essentially conceptualised by HM the King in his speech of 20 August 2021 (four months after Brahim Ghali's arrival in Spain) where he announced that Morocco has indeed changed and that the rules governing its relations have also changed.
With regard to the second reference to this new stage, it should be recalled that the logic of this dynamic also corresponds to the will of the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, expressed in his letter previously sent to King Mohammed VI, in which he stressed that "our objective must be to build a new relationship, based on transparency and permanent communication, mutual respect and respect for the agreements signed by both parties and the abstention from any unilateral action", this last sentence in the president's letter raises a question that deserves special reflection, it should be noted that unilateral actions in international relations are part of what is called the policy of fait accompli, as a method that consists of unilaterally modifying, without the prior consent of the partner or adversary country, and even without its knowledge, the balance of the bilateral relationship and thus placing the other in a situation considered irreversible. In this sense, we note that President Pedro Sánchez, after integrating, through his letter to the King of Morocco, the principle of refraining from any unilateral action into the conceptual framework of the new stage, returned in his speech at the opening of the RAN to insist on the same principle, assuring that "we are committed to transparency and permanent communication. We will always resort to dialogue and not to faits accomplis".
It is clear that diplomatic discourse, understood here as a series of statements and messages from both Spanish and Moroccan state actors, presents the recent development of bilateral relations between the two countries as a qualitative, positive and promising development, the key terms of which are trust, transparency and permanent communication. The question we have to answer in today's debate is precisely to what extent media coverage helped to generate a public image favourable to the new perspective opened up between the two kingdoms.
It is clear that any foreign policy needs a favourable public opinion "climate" to achieve its objectives, and the new stage of Spanish-Moroccan relations represents in this sense a rather particular case, namely the case of two diplomacies engaging in the discursive construction of a positive transformation of their relations. Despite the fact that the institutions of the two states deployed a communications strategy that provided the media and opinion leaders with precise and continuous information on the foundations and advantages of the new stage, media reactivity in Morocco was not the same as in Spain.
In Morocco, we can say without exaggeration that all the public and private media, traditional and digital, each in its own way, offered Moroccan public opinion a series of news, commentaries and analyses on the whole process of resolving the crisis and relaunching the new phase, to which Moroccan civil society responded in a serene, confident and optimistic manner. It has been noted in this context that the messages disseminated by the media were reproduced in social networks and academic media.
How can we explain the media's construction of this positive representation in Moroccan public opinion on the qualitative change in relations between the two neighbours?
The answer that I can propose for the moment comes in the form of a twofold hypothesis, which will need to be explored in greater depth later on:
- The first consists of saying that the positive representation that the media and public opinion in Morocco construct regarding the relaunching of relations with Spain's neighbour is framed within the general context of a traditionally positive image of Spain in Morocco, the positive nature of this image is manifested in different ways; there may be some negative perceptions, but not to the point of affecting the general trend towards a positive perception of Spain. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the relevant study by Dris Guerraoui and Noreddin Afaya entitled 'The Image of Spain in Morocco', published in its Spanish version in 2005, whose main conclusions confirm that most Moroccans see Spain as a friendly, modern and developed country, have a positive image of Spanish culture, especially gastronomy, art and music, as well as a positive image of Spaniards as friendly, hospitable and generous people.
- The second level of the hypothesis consists of explaining the positive treatment given by the Moroccan press to the process of establishing and consolidating the new phase by a determining factor, which is the Spanish government's positive stance on the Moroccan Sahara. We do not forget the sensitivity of this national issue for Moroccan public opinion, nor do we forget that HM King Mohammed VI had stressed in his speech of 20 August 2022 that Spain's new position has made it possible to initiate "a new phase for the Moroccan-Spanish partnership, unalterable in the face of regional circumstances and internal political developments". The King not only described Spain's position as "clear" and "responsible", but affirmed that the position on this artificial conflict is "the criterion of friendships and partnerships" for Morocco. Therefore, if the Sahara is, as HM said, the prism through which Morocco looks at the world, it is consequently the prism through which Moroccans saw the new stage of relations with Spain coming, and it is for this very reason that the Moroccan media reserved a positive treatment of the whole process.
As for the media coverage of this new stage in Spain, the general impression from the southern shore of the Strait of Gibraltar is that the Spanish media, with some exceptions of course, were sceptical and distrustful of the whole process:
Lacklustre RAN between Spain and Morocco
Spain-Morocco, a decaffeinated summit
Morocco and Spain, a friendship under suspicion
With Morocco, a brotherhood covered in concertinas
Morocco's multifaceted neighbour
Sánchez returns without concrete results
It is clear that we are faced with a media discourse that distances itself categorically from diplomatic discourse by producing its own terms of mistrust and suspicion instead of transparency and trust. It is clear that in a democracy, the press plays an essential role, independent of the political powers, and being in principle accountable only to the public, it seeks on behalf of the latter "the truth", insofar as it is possible to define it, so that citizens can monitor reality and form informed opinions.
However, what is most striking in this context is not that some media in Spain were critical of the conception of the new stage, which is their sacred right, but that they took the opportunity to reconstruct in the current context that old social representation of Morocco, essentially shaped by stereotypes and prejudices, likely to promote the construction of negative images; but how else can we understand why some of the media highlight in their coverage of the new phase terms such as "Inexplicable, suspicion, absence, stumbling, stall, humiliation, sessions, barter, cost, price, truce, submission, imbalance" and so on. This is the meaning that some Spanish media have given to this whole process, it is all they have wanted to see and transmit to Spanish public opinion, and not the advantage that two neighbouring countries, aware of the magnitude and strategic importance of the ties that unite them and of the legitimate aspirations for peace, security and prosperity of their peoples, are today beginning the construction of a new stage in their bilateral relationship.
To explain why the media in general focus their attention on certain aspects of reality and not on others, and why they end up seeing reality in a certain way, it would be pertinent to resort to the theory of media framing, which, including a set of concepts drawn from sociology and communication sciences, can help us understand how the media define and construct selected problems and events, providing frameworks of interpretation that influence behavioural expectations and make social reality more complex.
We can thus propose the existence of a discursive strategy used by some media in Spain to cover and interpret the construction of a new stage of relations with Morocco, a discursive strategy based on two types of media frames: stigmatisation and negationism.
Regarding stigmatisation, which consists of having prejudices about someone without really knowing them, it is enough to promote the traditional negative representation of their image, and negationism, which consists of denying reality in order to evade a truth, the truth that Morocco has changed, that the Morocco of today is not the same as the Morocco of yesterday.
Thus, the Moroccan media's communication strategy is based, as we have seen, on the framing of Spain's traditionally positive image in Morocco and the consolidation of Moroccan territorial integrity; while the Spanish media's communication strategy is based on the stigmatisation of Morocco's negative image and the denial of its positive change.
Those who have followed the recent evolution of Spanish-Moroccan relations through some media outlets may wonder whether Juan Goytisolo's critique of the colonialist representation of the other in Spanish literature and culture is relevant even today, as many of the prejudices and stereotypes he questioned still persist in some sectors of Spanish society, and especially in the Spanish media that focus on immigration, drug trafficking and security, often presenting these issues in a sensationalist and stereotypical manner.
However, I sincerely believe that the media in Spain vary in their approach and coverage of issues related to Morocco, and this has been noticed lately on two occasions, the occasion of the historic triumph of the Moroccan national team in the World Cup in Qatar, and the process of relaunching a new stage of relations between Spain and Morocco, and if there is still some persistence in the stigmatisation of Morocco, the truth is that there have been some notable advances in the elimination of prejudices and stereotypes in the media coverage of Morocco by the Spanish media.