Online Archive of University of Virginia Scholarship
History as a Diplomatic Narrative in U.S.-Moroccan Relations35 views
Author
Baisier, Mark, Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies - Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Virginia0009-0006-1112-5919
Advisors
Hermes, Nizar, AS-Middle East and South Asia Language & Cultures (MESA), University of Virginia
Kahlenberg, Caroline, AS-History (HIST), University of Virginia
Abstract
In “History as a Diplomatic Narrative in U.S.–Moroccan Relations”, I examine how the recurring claim that Morocco was the first country to recognize the United States in 1777 has functioned in modern diplomacy. I argue that, particularly since 1945, this claim has served not simply as a historical reference or ceremonial remark, but as a diplomatic narrative mobilized by both Moroccan and American political actors to legitimize bilateral cooperation and present the relationship as historically continuous. Drawing on constructivist international relations theory and scholarship on political memory, I show that the 1777 recognition narrative remained largely dormant throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries before being revived and increasingly institutionalized during decolonization, the Cold War, and the post-9/11 period. In doing so, I highlight the ways historical memory can be strategically activated to shape diplomatic discourse and frame contemporary foreign policy relationships.
Baisier, Mark. History as a Diplomatic Narrative in U.S.-Moroccan Relations. University of Virginia, Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies - Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, MA (Master of Arts), 2026-05-01, https://doi.org/10.18130/wbdg-jm76.
