How Roads, Ports and Resorts Are Reshaping Western Sahara
Through the construction of large-scale infrastructure, Morocco has slowly accumulated sovereignty over Western Sahara. The disputed territory, located on the northwest coast of Africa, has an unresolved political status spanning nearly half a century. Originally a Spanish colony from the 1880s until the mid-1970s, the rise of Sahrawi nationalist movements in 1973 created pressure for decolonization. Although the Spanish ultimately withdrew, Morocco asserted its own claims to the territory and led a “Green March” in 1975. This sovereignty claim over Western Sahara triggered an armed conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front, the Sahrawi independence movement advocating for the territory’s independence, which subsequently proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. The United Nations (UN) continues to recognize the area as a non-self-governing territory. Sahrawis have seen the UN attempt referendums on the question of their right to self-determination, attempts which have been continuously delayed primarily by Moroccan objections. Ambiguity regarding sovereignty persists, as major powers have largely recognized Moroccan control. For instance, the United States endorsed Morocco’s claims in 2020, and France followed in 2024 by recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over the southern provinces of the Western Sahara. The region remains one of the world’s most contested territorial disputes, entangled in a constant state of unresolved conflict.
While Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara remains legally contested, it continues to assert control over the region. On October 31, 2025, the UN endorsed the Moroccan autonomy plan, which grants autonomy to Western Sahara under Moroccan control. Moroccans celebrated the news of “national unity and territorial integrity,” although this endorsement does not formally recognize Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara. In response, Morocco has intensified its pursuit of legitimacy through what may be understood as an ‘investment as legitimacy’ strategy. First, the Moroccan government has sought to attract foreign investment in what it increasingly refers to as the “Moroccan Sahara.” France, Spain, and the United States have expressed interest in investing in Western Sahara alongside Morocco’s current development investments in road construction, large-scale port infrastructure, and renewable energy projects. One of the most notable plans is the Dakhla Atlantic Port. Once constructed, the Dakhla Atlantic Port is expected to handle 35 million tons of goods annually. This development positions Morocco as a strategic hub for trade and fisheries and is a gateway for the growth of Moroccan industries, including green hydrogen and ammonia infrastructure.
These development projects serve not only economic purposes but also broader geopolitical ambitions. Moroccan officials frame them as essential for handling substantial quantities of the country’s trade with North and South American partners. These ongoing investments have constructed a progressive, future-focused front that normalizes Moroccan authority and the exploitation of the Western Sahara region for the state’s own national development and economic interests. Notably, the region supplies eight per cent of Morocco’s national phosphate production, a key resource for Morocco’s geopolitical leverage. Similarly, between 2020 and 2024, Morocco exported around 900,000 tonnes of sand from Western Sahara. Following these rhetorical appeals to development, Western Sahara appears less as a disputed territory and more as a part of Morocco’s strategic development trajectory.
This also mirrors a wider national investment strategy promotion. Morocco has extended its tax policies to the Western Sahara region. Morocco has further attempted to integrate the territory into its international trade policies, with certain EU-Morocco trade agreements seeking to apply tariff preferences to products originating from Western Sahara. However, its inclusion remains legally disputed, underscoring the remaining ambiguity surrounding the region.
Additionally, Morocco has discursively appropriated Western Sahara, using tourism as an instrument of soft power to reframe the narrative. For instance, the official tourism website describes Dakhla as “the pearl of southern Morocco,” showcasing various parts of the region, such as the Dakhla lagoon and coastal beaches, to attract tourists. Furthermore, the national map presented on the same platform fully incorporates Western Sahara and offers no visual indication of a dispute. Tourism campaigns promote Dakhla as a luxury destination– general tourist websites advertise “Morocco Sahara Tours” or water sports in “Dakhla, the pearl.” The phenomenon has been described as “double branding,” replacing narratives of occupation with the image of a dream destination within the Moroccan nation. This normalizes Moroccan control and invites the international community to do the same.
This discourse raises critical tension. While economic development is used as evidence of progress, economic prosperity cannot guarantee a sustainable and autonomous future for Western Sahara. Luxury resorts and mega ports physically transform the region but ignore questions of cultural and political conflict entirely. This risks masking the root of the conflict and turning the Western Sahara territorial dispute into a forgotten struggle, ultimately granting Morocco the control it craves.
Overall, Western Sahara illustrates how soft power can reshape geopolitical realities. Morocco has successfully acquired legitimacy over a disputed territory through development projects, economic integration and tourism campaigns– through both physical and discursive manipulation. Nonetheless, beneath this facade of positive development efforts lie fraught considerations regarding the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination.
Edited by Madeleine Glover
Featured image: “Western Sahara (Morocco)” by Jurgen is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
