This research argues the collaboration between French colonial scholars and policy-makers in the shaping and reshaping of specific notions of collective Berber identity through exploring the...Show moreThis research argues the collaboration between French colonial scholars and policy-makers in the shaping and reshaping of specific notions of collective Berber identity through exploring the theoretical incentives and practical implications of French Berber Policy in Protectorate Morocco (1912-1956). It is furthermore an effort to include and analyse recent reinterpretations from four Moroccan intellectuals (Mohamed Boudhan, Muḥamed Mūnīb, Hassan Aourid, and Maâti Monjib) who discuss this specific chapter in Moroccan history. By analysing and contextualizing their works I conclude that although these works have their academic value in contributing interesting viewpoints supported by first-hand information and academic knowledge, the accounts are often passionate and personal attacks on Moroccan nationalists and their post-colonial construction of an inaccurate historical narrative about the shaping of Berber identity and French Berber policy in support of their nation-building project. These Moroccan intellectuals are thus more intertwined with political interests than they often admit, resulting in an interesting parallel with colonial and post-colonial academic traditions in Morocco that take on the subject of Berber identity formation and are also subject to both academic and political loyalties.Show less
