Since their independence from colonial rule, the three Maghreb states Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia have interacted with foreign powers bilaterally rather than as an integrated region. Despite the foundation of the Arab Maghreb Union UMA in , the Maghreb countries have pursued discrete foreign policies that reflected the nature of their anticolonial struggle and the ideological choices that they made following, or even prior to, their independence.
While Algeria chose nonalignment as the foundation of its foreign policy, Morocco and Tunisia remained attached to the West despite proclaiming attachment to nonalignment. In the decade from to , the Maghreb states have faced numerous political and socioeconomic challenges which created complicated geopolitical constraints. At the same time, the pandemic and other constraints have created new geopolitical dynamics that were already in the making, for outside powers had already shown increased interest in the region.
With the extension of the Belt and Road Initiative to the Mediterranean, China has increased its economic presence and extended its Maritime Silk Road, which requires access to ports. Thus, domestic challenges and evolving geopolitical dynamics have compelled the Maghreb regimes to seek the support of outside powers to offset their internal instability and to compete with one another Algeria versus Morocco.
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