Lyautey in Morocco: Contemporary Considerations

About

Speaker: Jamil Musa, Research Fellow, International Security Program

Marshal Hubert Lyautey served as France's first Resident-General in Rabat from 1912–1925 and set the tone for the French Protectorate in Morocco from 1912–1956. Lyautey's principles of population-centric warfare would form the foundations for the French doctrine de la guerre révolutionnaire (DGR)—doctrine of revolutionary war—in the mid-20th century and later have a veiled influence upon American counterinsurgency (COIN) in the early 21st century.

Despite the stated assertions of Lyautey's methods in Morocco, "peaceful penetration" was quite violent and "indirect rule" became rather direct. The Morocco case study demonstrates the continued applicability of colonial warfare to modern conflict, underscores that overwhelming preparedness for and dedication to occupation may not yield desired ends, highlights the opportunity costs of limited wars in relation to great power competition, and contributes to scholarship skeptical of large-scale COIN.

Everyone is welcome to join us via Zoom! Register before the seminar here:
https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYpcOugrTorHtBRoA4VXMFgF5QGoe0PnDhj 

Contact

For more information, email the International Security Program Assistant at susan_lynch@harvard.edu.