Western Sahara

While adding an interactive map of the places I have lived in and traveled to on my website, I placed a pin on Morocco and noticed that the map still drew a border through the Sahara.

It was a small detail, but it opened a much larger question. Why is this border still disputed nearly fifty years after Spain left, and why has Algeria remained so invested in keeping the issue alive? Why do they care so much? Why does Morocco?

Like many modern conflicts, this one is difficult to separate from the mess European colonial powers left behind. Britain withdrew from Palestine after helping create incompatible political promises and institutions. Its rushed partition of India contributed to mass displacement, violence, and the unresolved Kashmir dispute. France and Spain divided North Africa according to their own interests, leaving Morocco, Algeria, and Western Sahara to deal with borders that did not necessarily reflect older political, tribal, or economic relationships. Colonial powers drew the lines, extracted what they wanted, and then left later generations to fight over the consequences [1], [2].

When Spain withdrew from Western Sahara in 1975, Morocco organized the Green March and took control of most of the territory, while the Polisario Front, backed by Algeria, fought for an independent Sahrawi state. A UN ceasefire followed in 1991, but the political process remained frozen for decades [3], [4].

The strongest argument on the other side is self-determination. The United Nations still classifies Western Sahara as a non-self-governing territory, and supporters of independence argue that Sahrawis should be allowed to decide their political future [3].

That argument deserves to be taken seriously. At the same time, Morocco points to historical ties with the region and proposes autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty. Morocco also argues that the Polisario cannot automatically be treated as the voice of every Sahrawi, especially when many Sahrawis live in Moroccan-administered cities, vote in elections, and may prefer autonomy or integration over the creation of a new state.

Today, Morocco administers roughly 80 percent of the territory, including its main cities and most of the Atlantic coastline. The Polisario controls a far less populated area east of Morocco’s defensive berm [4].

What I still struggle to understand is Algeria’s incentive.

Algeria does not claim Western Sahara as its own. Officially, it says its support for the Polisario is about decolonization and self-determination. Perhaps that is genuinely part of it. But after nearly fifty years of military, diplomatic, and financial support, it is hard to believe that regional power has nothing to do with it.

The dispute keeps pressure on Morocco, restricts regional cooperation, and gives Algeria a permanent geopolitical cause. It may also be useful domestically when the government faces difficult questions about economic opportunity.

To be fair, both countries have serious problems. Youth unemployment was about 22 percent in Morocco and 29 percent in Algeria in recent estimates [5], [6]. Morocco faces inequality, water scarcity, drought, and the loss of agricultural employment. Algeria has significant oil and gas wealth, yet hydrocarbons still accounted for about 83 percent of its exports and 46 percent of government revenue between 2020 and 2024 [5], [6].

Public spending also shows an interesting contrast. Morocco allocated about 23 percent of government expenditure to education in 2024, compared with approximately 15.5 percent in Algeria in 2025. Total health expenditure was about 6.1 percent of GDP in Morocco and 4.4 percent in Algeria in 2023 [7], [8]. Yet in 2025, Algeria spent about $25.4 billion on its military, equal to roughly one quarter of all government expenditure. Morocco spent about $6.3 billion [9].

These numbers do not prove why Algeria supports the Polisario. Morocco also spends heavily on defense and still has major shortcomings in its schools, hospitals, and job market. But Algeria’s priorities are difficult to ignore. A country with enormous natural-resource wealth, high youth unemployment, and a military consuming around 25 percent of government spending has strong reasons to keep citizens focused on security, rivalry, and external threats.

Neither country is militarily weak. Morocco operates American F-16 fighter jets, has received AH-64E attack helicopters, and has expanded its use of modern drones and other Western weapons. Algeria possesses Russian Su-30 jets, submarines, advanced air-defense systems, and a military budget roughly four times larger than Morocco’s [9], [10]. A renewed war might change control on the ground, but it would not be a quick or clean solution. It could destroy lives, deepen the refugee crisis, interrupt trade and energy routes, and destabilize an already fragile region.

Meanwhile, Morocco has gained important diplomatic support. The United States recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in 2020. France shifted its position in 2024, stating that the territory’s present and future lie within Moroccan sovereignty and describing Morocco’s autonomy proposal as the only basis for a political solution [11], [12].

So who benefits from the current situation?

Morocco continues consolidating its control. Algeria continues limiting its main regional rival. The Polisario remains politically relevant. Ordinary Sahrawis, especially those who have spent generations in refugee camps or under a permanently unresolved status, appear to benefit the least.

Maybe Algeria’s position really is primarily about principle. But I keep returning to the same question: if self-determination is the main concern, why has this particular piece of land remained such an extraordinary Algerian priority for almost half a century?

References

[1] United Nations, “History of the Question of Palestine.”
[2] S. Roy, “India and Pakistan have been in conflict since 1947 Partition. A look at its troubled legacy,” Associated Press.
[3] United Nations, “Western Sahara,” The United Nations and Decolonization.
[4] United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, “Background.”
[5] World Bank, “Algeria.”
[6] World Bank, “Morocco.”
[7] UNESCO Institute for Statistics, “Government expenditure on education, total (% of government expenditure),” World Bank.
[8] World Health Organization, “Current health expenditure (% of GDP),” Global Health Expenditure Database.
[9] X. Liang, N. Tian, D. Lopes da Silva, L. Scarazzato, Z. Karim, and J. Guiberteau Ricard, “Trends in world military expenditure.
[10] Boeing, “Morocco Orders 24 Boeing AH-64E Apache Helicopters,” Jun. 25, 2020.
[11] The White House, “Proclamation on Recognizing the Sovereignty of the Kingdom of Morocco over Western Sahara.”
[12] Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, “Minister’s Meeting with Nasser Bourita.”