Hybrid Power Dynamics in the Maghreb: Cyber Politics and Narrative Competition in the Algeria–Morocco Rivalry
1
Political science department, Mustapha Stambouli Mascara university, Algeria
Submission date: 2025-11-21
Final revision date: 2026-02-12
Acceptance date: 2026-03-10
Online publication date: 2026-03-24
Publication date: 2026-03-24
Corresponding author
Lotfi Sour
Political science department, Mustapha Stambouli Mascara university, BP 305 Route de Mamounia, 29000, Mascara, Algeria
Political science department, Mustapha Stambouli Mascara university, BP 305 Route de Mamounia, 29000, Mascara, Algeria
Przegląd Nauk o Obronności 2025;(21):99-120
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Objectives:
This paper investigates how hybrid threats—specifically disinformation and cyber strategies—have redefined the geopolitical rivalry between Algeria and Morocco and, by extension, the security architecture of the Maghreb. The study argues that this bilateral competition represents a paradigmatic case of regional hybridization, in which informational and digital instruments are systematically deployed as substitutes for direct military confrontation.
Methods:
The analysis draws on a qualitative, theory-driven case study combining Hybrid Warfare Theory and Regional Security Complex Theory (RSCT) to conceptualize the intersection between informational conflict and regional power politics. Empirically, the research relies on open-source intelligence (OSINT), defense communiqués, cyber incident databases, and content analysis of media ecosystems across Arabic, French, and English outlets between 2011 and 2025. A discourse-analytic method is employed to identify strategic narratives, attribution patterns, and the evolution of digital deterrence mechanisms.
Results:
Findings reveal that Algeria and Morocco have progressively institutionalized hybrid statecraft: each integrating disinformation, cyber espionage, and symbolic diplomacy into their foreign and defense policies. Meanwhile, the cyber domain has become a strategic arena in its own right, characterized by escalating espionage, data manipulation, and the growing involvement of external actors such as Russia, China, Israel, and the European Union.
Conclusions:
The study concludes that the Maghreb’s security environment is evolving into a Hybrid Security Complex, in which cognitive, informational, and technological dimensions of power are mutually reinforcing. The Algeria–Morocco rivalry exemplifies how hybrid tools can be used to maintain deterrence, contest legitimacy, and shape perceptions without direct kinetic engagement.
This paper investigates how hybrid threats—specifically disinformation and cyber strategies—have redefined the geopolitical rivalry between Algeria and Morocco and, by extension, the security architecture of the Maghreb. The study argues that this bilateral competition represents a paradigmatic case of regional hybridization, in which informational and digital instruments are systematically deployed as substitutes for direct military confrontation.
Methods:
The analysis draws on a qualitative, theory-driven case study combining Hybrid Warfare Theory and Regional Security Complex Theory (RSCT) to conceptualize the intersection between informational conflict and regional power politics. Empirically, the research relies on open-source intelligence (OSINT), defense communiqués, cyber incident databases, and content analysis of media ecosystems across Arabic, French, and English outlets between 2011 and 2025. A discourse-analytic method is employed to identify strategic narratives, attribution patterns, and the evolution of digital deterrence mechanisms.
Results:
Findings reveal that Algeria and Morocco have progressively institutionalized hybrid statecraft: each integrating disinformation, cyber espionage, and symbolic diplomacy into their foreign and defense policies. Meanwhile, the cyber domain has become a strategic arena in its own right, characterized by escalating espionage, data manipulation, and the growing involvement of external actors such as Russia, China, Israel, and the European Union.
Conclusions:
The study concludes that the Maghreb’s security environment is evolving into a Hybrid Security Complex, in which cognitive, informational, and technological dimensions of power are mutually reinforcing. The Algeria–Morocco rivalry exemplifies how hybrid tools can be used to maintain deterrence, contest legitimacy, and shape perceptions without direct kinetic engagement.
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