Abstract
This paper attempts to provide a succinct background to the origins of the conflict in Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, between the Kingdom of Morocco and nationalists of the territory. It identifies the broad regional and international ramifications of the continuing conflict, which began in 1975, and describes efforts made by the Organization of African Unity [OAU] and the United Nations to resolve the conflict. It focuses most of its analysis on the major obstacles to the conflict's resolution, particularly the policy of the United States. The analysis shows that the greatest obstacle to the resolution of the conflict is not really the intransigence of the Moroccan monarchy. Rather it is the policy of the United States on the one hand and the weakness of the OAU and its member states in coping with affairs and developments within the continent on the other. Particularly, the international primacy of the United States, coupled with its ability to shape the terms by which international relations take place, has made the UN and its leading secretaries a tool of U.S. foreign policy.
Recommended Citation
Ohaegbulam, Festus
(2001)
"The Tortured Road Towards Peace in the Western Sahara,"
Journal of African Policy Studies: Vol. 7:
No.
1, Article 6.
Available at:
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/joaps/vol7/iss1/6