Source: Journal of China-Africa Studies, No.3, 2026

Abstract: The Maghreb has long been trapped in a predicament of geopolitical fragmentation, making it a typical case of the setbacks encountered in the development of regional integration. This article explores the structural roots underlying the persistence and intractability of geopolitical fragmentation in the region from three dimensions: competition among political norms, the vertical flow of economic resources, and transnational security dependence. Politically, the governance paradigm externally promoted by the European Union and localized expressions of political Islam have long remained in competition. Combined with differences among regional countries in their degrees of dependence on external geopolitical systems, this has resulted in persistently low levels of political mutual trust within the region. Economically, the region's countries are highly dependent on European and American markets for resource exports, while their industrial structures exhibit a tendency toward convergence, making it difficult for regional economic cooperation to generate endogenous momentum. In terms of security, multiple cross-border risks are intertwined within the region, while shortcomings in the governance capacities of individual countries have created conditions for the continued intervention of external actors in regional affairs. These three mechanisms do not operate in isolation; but rather are interconnected and mutually reinforcing, further deepening the region's dependence on external forces and entrenching its developmental predicament. As the regional landscape of the Maghreb continues to be reshaped, external actors have become increasingly diverse. However, the diversification of external actors has not been accompanied by a corresponding enhancement of the region's capacity for autonomous integration. Instead, it has further dispersed the resources and political attention required for internal regional integration.

Keywords: Maghreb, External dependence, Regional integration, Geopolitical fragmentation, Regional integration