Irredentism and Internacional Relations: An analysis of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara's (MINURSO) contention of Moroccan irredentism

• Grant number: 25/02791-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: June 02, 2025
• End date: September 01, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Political Science - International Politics
• Principal Investigator: Arthur Roberto Capella Giannattasio
• Grantee: Lucas Louzada Silva
• Supervisor: Francisco Pereira Coutinho
• Host Institution: Instituto de Relações Internacionais (IRI). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal
• Associated to the scholarship: 24/04536-7 - Irredentism and International Relations: An analysis of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara's (MINURSO) contention of Moroccan irredentism, BP.MS

Abstract

The dispute between Morocco and Polisário for Western Sahara's sovereignty is a representative conflict for North Africa's power balance, marked by the involvement of international players such as France, Spain, and the United States. The hypothesis to explain the effectiveness of the Moroccan irredentist project lies on the leniency of UN Security Council's powers with Rabat's policies. In order to verify the aforementioned hypothesis, the research will look at relevant documents from the UN Digital Archive on the question since the establishment of the Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara in 1991. By analyzing the position of state and non-state actors on the matter, the study aims to shed light on the difficulties faced by international organizations to ensure the right to self-determination and to measure international tolerance to an irredentist project. (AU)