The makhzen: decoding Algeria’s fixation on Morocco’s governing model

The makhzen is often misunderstood outside Morocco, particularly by its critics. For Moroccans, it represents more than just a bureaucratic system or a relic of feudalism. It is a historically rooted governance network, centered around the monarchy, that has adapted over time while maintaining continuity with Morocco’s political and cultural identity. This institution integrates tribal leaders, religious scholars, and local dignitaries, functioning as a unifying force in a diverse and expansive nation.

the makhzen’s enduring role in Moroccan society

Far from being inflexible, the makhzen has evolved to incorporate modern institutions while preserving its traditional essence. It symbolizes stability, continuity, and a shared identity, ensuring Morocco’s resilience through colonization, independence, modernization, and regional disruptions. As both a political and cultural center, it has played a pivotal role in maintaining the nation’s unity and legitimacy.

Algeria’s obsession with the makhzen: a psychoanalytic view

Algeria’s fixation on the makhzen can be examined through a psychoanalytic lens, revealing deeper psychological and political tensions. The Algerian regime’s rhetoric often portrays the makhzen as a symbol of opposition, projecting its internal struggles onto Morocco’s governing model. This phenomenon involves several psychoanalytic concepts:

The makhzen as a “symbolic father”

In Lacanian terms, the makhzen functions as the “Name-of-the-Father,” structuring Morocco’s symbolic order and identity. Algeria’s political system, by contrast, emerged from revolutionary rupture, lacking an equivalent unifying figure. The absence of rooted continuity in Algeria’s governance creates a void, making the makhzen a projection of what is missing in its own system: stability, legitimacy, and historical depth.

Projection and splitting

The Algerian regime frequently frames itself as virtuous and revolutionary, contrasting Morocco as manipulative and reactionary. This binary outlook externalizes Algeria’s deep-seated issues—economic struggles, youth unrest, and military dominance—onto the makhzen, blaming it for regional challenges and internal failures. This projection deflects attention from Algeria’s internal crises.

Narcissistic injury and envy

Morocco’s successes—diplomatic achievements, economic diversification, and political stability—highlight the shortcomings of Algeria’s military-dominated regime. This disparity fuels a “narcissistic wound,” where envy of Morocco’s accomplishments manifests as hostility. The makhzen becomes a scapegoat for Algeria’s frustrations, masking its own governance failures.

Fixation and compulsion to repeat

Algerian officials and media obsessively reference the makhzen, often more than their own institutions. This repetitive focus reveals an unresolved psychological fixation, reflecting an inability to confront Algeria’s political trauma, including the betrayal of its revolutionary ideals by military elites.

Repressed admiration and identification

Beneath its antagonistic stance, Algeria’s regime harbors unconscious admiration for the makhzen’s symbolic authority and international legitimacy. However, this admiration is repressed, emerging instead as paranoia and aggression. This dynamic underscores Algeria’s identity crisis, torn between rejecting and desiring the qualities embodied by Morocco’s governance model.

conclusion: a mirror and a threat

For Algeria’s elites, the makhzen represents both a mirror—reflecting their own governance deficits—and a threat, exposing the fragility of their authority. The regime’s obsession with Morocco’s system underscores its unresolved postcolonial identity crisis. In psychoanalytic terms, the fixation on the makhzen reveals an unconscious struggle with envy, admiration, and the absence of legitimacy within Algeria’s political framework.

By persistently invoking the makhzen, Algeria inadvertently highlights its own insecurities, further entrenching its identity crisis in the shadow of its neighbor’s enduring stability and unity.