The relation between Weastern Sahara and Morocco in the context of the

decolonization of the African Continent

Introduction
The name Sahara comes from the Arabic word Sahara which in the Tuareg dialect
means the desert sand. In the Middle Ages it was simply called The Great Desert, and in the
XIX century was given the name that it has today. The Arabs call Sahara Bahr bela me which
would mean the sea without water.
The Morocco's territorial claims on Western Sahara are based on historical facts,
that this territory was controlled in ancient times by the kingdom of Morocco.
In this context it is important to mention that namely with the Saadi dynasty,
Morocco begins to assert territorial claims on Western Sahara, a dispute that grew later but is
unsolved to this day.
This paper aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the still ongoing conflict in
the Western Sahara, in order to understand its impact on the international relations system in
Africa in the post -Cold War period.
The objectives of this work are: highlighting the political status of Western Sahara
in the context of the colonial disputes in Africa at the end of the XIX century; assessing the
consequences of the decolonization of the African continent on Western Sahara; highlighting
the causes that led to the outbreak of the conflict; the delimitation of the place and role of the
international community in resolving the conflict in Western Sahara.
The subject touched by the present work is extremely important and authentic. In
terms of international relations, the analysis of the historical, political, economic aspects in
deciphering the origins and premises of the conflict in Western Sahara of the factors and
forces that triggered the armed conflict, the major events, as well as the stages in the process
of the settlement of the Sahara West, the most important documents, decisions, projects
addressing data come to substitute the perception of some truths anchored in the reality.