The Sahara: beyond inherited frameworks

In Spain, Western Sahara continues to be viewed predominantly through conceptual lenses forged during half a century of conflict. Many of these analytical frameworks emerged in a political era shaped by the Cold War, decolonisation movements, and the ideological currents of the 1970s. They have demonstrated extraordinary durability, continuing to condition interpretations of a regional reality that has undergone deep structural change. In recent years, the territory has witnessed visible, tangible material transformations. Modern highway networks, state-of-the-art port logistics, expanded international air routes, renewable energy projects, seawater desalination infrastructure, modernised agriculture, tourism development, and private enterprise investments are reshaping its economic landscape. The Kingdom of Morocco treats the comprehensive socio-economic development of its southern provinces as a core national strategic priority, explicitly linking it to its long-term vision for regional stability. View of the new Tiznit-Dakhla expressway corridor Ideological dogmatism versus material reality From certain ideological viewpoints, however, analysis begins from an entrenched preconception. Moroccan public policy in the territory is denied legitimacy based on an interpretation of international law frozen in decades-old decolonisation resolutions at the United Nations (UN), as if the diplomatic and geopolitical realities of the Maghreb had remained entirely static. Consequently, every infrastructure project is judged through that single ideological premise: a road, a port, or an industrial investment is dismissed as a political device before its socio-economic impact is even assessed. This line of reasoning results in a paradox that is untenable after five decades: that the territory should remain in forced stasis while awaiting a comprehensive political settlement that has remained elusive for half a century. Within this worldview, every modern infrastructure project becomes suspect precisely because it improves living standards, integrates transit, and modernises the territory. Guerguerat crossing point, Morocco - ATALAYAR/ GUILLERMO LÓPEZ A motorway facilitates the efficient transit of people and essential goods. A desalination plant guarantees water security across one of the most arid regions on Earth. Clean energy installations supply current municipal and industrial requirements while laying the foundation for future growth. International air corridors link local producers to global markets and international travellers. Private investments generate direct employment and transform the material living conditions of local communities. The fact that the diplomatic file remains open under multilateral auspices cannot serve as a justification for condemning successive generations to economic immobility. This is especially true when contrasted with the situation of tens of thousands of Sahrawis who have lived for decades in the Tindouf refugee camps in southwestern Algeria, dependent on international humanitarian assistance and governed by a rigid, closed political hierarchy administered by the Polisario Front. After fifty years, it is entirely legitimate to question which framework offers a credible future of development, stability, and human dignity. Smara refugee camp in Tindouf, Algeria - REUTERS/BORJA SUÁREZ The circular logic trap and generational legacies Those who view any developmental investment as inherently illegitimate find confirmation of their bias regardless of the policies pursued. If public infrastructure is expanded, it is framed as entrenching control; if international companies establish operations, it is depicted as engineered diplomatic normalisation; if tourism expands, it is dismissed as an exercise in sovereignty projection. The argument becomes entirely circular, as every empirical development is forced into a predetermined ideological conclusion. Even outspoken critics of Moroccan policy acknowledge the scale of capital investment and engineering deployment achieved over recent years across transport, municipal utilities, and civil infrastructure. This reality increasingly demonstrates that physical facts on the ground can no longer be contained within outdated political slogans. Polisario Front Secretary-General Brahim Ghali - REUTERS/ RAMZI BOUDINA Furthermore, an unaddressed generational and ideological component influences the Spanish debate. Significant segments of Spanish public opinion remain anchored to the political culture of the 1970s. Within parts of the left, sympathy persists for the Polisario Front and the third-worldist revolutionary narrative of that era. This perspective took root equally among regional nationalist and pro-independence parties, including sections of Canarian nationalism, which adopted the Polisario cause into their ideological platforms during those formative years. Half a century later, the international system has altered fundamentally, yet many of these political categories continue to be applied uncritically. A similar analytical rigidity emerges from opposing political quarters. Sectors of the Spanish conservative right and traditional nationalism maintain deep-seated wariness toward Morocco, shaped by colonial memories, the Green March, the territorial sovereignty of Ceuta and Melilla, and an enduring perception of Rabat as an intrinsic strategic competitor. While their ideological premises differ entirely, the analytical outcome is identical: Morocco is viewed with structural suspicion, and every foreign or economic initiative from Rabat is interpreted through a hostile lens. Migrant movements monitored in the vicinity of the border perimeter near Fnideq - PHOTO/ REUTERS International diplomatic shifts and contemporary questions Meanwhile, international diplomacy has moved forward. The current diplomatic consensus bears little resemblance to 1975, or even to the geopolitical landscape of a decade ago. The Moroccan Autonomy Plan has secured broad, bipartisan international backing. The United States—guided by the White House and the US Department of State—alongside France, Spain, and an expanding coalition of European Union member states and global partners, formally endorse the initiative as the most serious, credible, and realistic basis for resolving the dispute. Resolution 2797 of the UN Security Council, adopted on 31 October 2025, consolidated this diplomatic shift by placing the autonomy initiative at the centre of UN-facilitated round-table negotiations aimed at reaching a lasting, practical, and mutually acceptable political solution. While formal proceedings remain within the United Nations, the diplomatic center of gravity has evolved decisively. The United Nations Security Council convened at UN Headquarters in New York - REUTERS/ SHANNON STAPLETON This strategic evolution requires updating the essential questions. After decades of procedural deadlock, the central issues now revolve around determining which governance mechanisms can guarantee genuine devolution and self-government, how to integrate the full spectrum of Sahrawi civil society—recognising pluralist voices beyond historical monopolies—, how to structure reconciliation and the voluntary return of families from Tinduf, and what economic model can secure long-term prosperity. These are pragmatic questions anchored in present realities and future governance. Analysing the territory strictly through fifty-year-old dogmas preserves legacy ideological certainties, but offers little practical guidance for achieving a sustainable settlement. Real economic development versus propaganda: the impact on the Canary Islands Economic modernisation forms an integral part of this future. Cities such as Dakhla and Laayoune are experiencing sustained demographic and urban expansion. Deep-water port facilities, regional logistics platforms, industrial clean energy parks, and expanded tourism infrastructure represent objective, measurable transformations. These realities produce lasting economic effects regardless of the political labels applied to them. Humanitarian reception at the Port of Arguineguín, Gran Canaria - REUTERS/BORJA SUÁREZ Furthermore, structural development should not be reflexively dismissed as propaganda. Every sovereign state embeds strategic planning into capital expenditure decisions, particularly in border regions of high geopolitical significance. That strategic rationale does not diminish the daily utility of modern roads, reliable water desalination, or solar installations for the local population. Dismissing all economic progress as public relations reveals more about the observer's biases than about the actual conditions on the ground. For the Canary Islands, this regional modernisation carries immediate geographic and economic significance. Just off the archipelago's coast, an increasingly connected commercial hub is emerging, operating within the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This development is reshaping the surrounding Atlantic maritime space, requiring Canarian institutions to combine economic competitiveness, sectoral complementarity, and cross-border cooperation. Ignoring these dynamics for ideological reasons will not impede their progression. Canary Islands Regional President Fernando Clavijo meets with Souss-Massa Regional Council President Karim Achengli - PHOTO/X/FERNANDO CLAVIJO/@FClavijoBatlle For decades, Western Sahara has been viewed in Spain almost entirely through the prism of armed conflict and diplomatic stalemate. While that perspective explains the historical roots of the dispute, it is increasingly inadequate for understanding its contemporary reality. Fifty years is too long to insist that a territory remain frozen in time until it fits the political assumptions of the past. Today's Western Sahara features modern transport corridors, commercial ports, operational airports, active enterprises, utility-scale renewable complexes, and an autonomy initiative that forms the bedrock of modern international diplomacy. Acknowledging this reality does not require setting history aside; it requires recognising that history moves forward and that no society can remain trapped in perpetual uncertainty. After half a century, what is becoming obsolete is not a geographic border, but the relevance of inherited ideological frameworks to explain the dynamic reality taking shape on the ground.