New Media and the Shaping of the Political Space in Morocco: An Analytical Approach to Communication Dynamics, Regulatory Constraints, and Prospects for Democratic Practice

Abstract

This article examines the dialectical relationship between new media and political communication in Morocco, and its implications for democratic practice. The study proceeds from the hypothesis that new media has not merely constituted an additional technical tool within political communication systems, but has fundamentally restructured the deep architecture of these systems, generating new power balances among political actors, media practitioners, and citizens. The study analyzes this relationship through three main axes: the conceptual and theoretical framework of new media and political communication; the role of new media in Morocco's democratic transition; and the legal and institutional framework governing this relationship. The study adopts a critical analytical approach drawing on Agenda-Setting, Framing, Cultivation, and Habermasian Public Sphere theories, alongside comparative models of media and political systems. The study concludes that Morocco is experiencing a structural tension between the imperatives of digital media liberalization and the constraints of its political system, and that addressing this tension requires comprehensive reform grounded in the democratization of media space and the strengthening of digital civic culture.