The tribe, authority, and society in the Maghreb

Under the title "Tribe, Power, and Society in the Maghreb," Dr. Mansour Mirmouka presents an anthropological approach to the tribal composition in Maghreb society based on the lived reality in the daily lives of citizens, in order to understand the extent to which Maghreb society relies on tribal affiliations in its various relationships, whether at the level of individuals among themselves or the relationship between tribes or sections of tribes with each other, and the extent of influence of that on these relationships, and how these tribal loyalties can exist in a society that can be described as modern. These affiliations, according to the author, are fueled by tribal and clan tribalism, and are defined by allegiance to everything that symbolizes the narrow group, starting with the family, then the clan and tribe, and possibly extending to regionalism and sectarianism if we look at a broader area of the geographical space occupied by the tribe or clan, as well as in the realm of ideas and beliefs that fanaticize for gender and lineage. From here, the author in his study of Maghreb society tried to trace many determinants and factors that directly or indirectly influence social relations, based on a problematic through which the author attempted "to find the relationship between the tribal organization, which still remains a factor of belonging and pride in various occasions, and power in its different dimensions, not only politics but also in its cultural, social, religious, and economic aspects, on the one hand, and linking it to society and other related political and authoritative organizations, including electoral politics and its local manifestations... The important thing that the author concluded from this study is: "That the traditional systems (tribal and clan) fueled by tribalism in its various orientations have become intertwined with modern systems and intersect with their components, and each of these systems, whether traditional or modern, now forms a part of the national and local political equation that can only be resolved by the presence of both sides together....