Greater Morocco

Greater Morocco is a label historically used by some Moroccan nationalist political leaders protesting against Spanish, French and Portuguese rule, to refer to wider territories historically associated with the Moroccan sultan. Current usage most frequently occurs in a critical context, accusing Morocco, largely in discussing the disputed Western Sahara, of irredentist claims on neighboring territories. The main competing ideologies of the Greater Morocco ideology have been Sahrawi nationalism, Mauritanian irredentism, Spanish nationalism, Berber separatism and Pan-Arabism. Irredentist, official and unofficial Moroccan claims on territories viewed by Moroccans as having been under some form of Moroccan sovereignty (most frequently with respect to the Spanish exclaves), are rhetorically tied back to an accused expansionism. However, Moroccan government claims make no current reference to the Greater Morocco concept.