Imperialism, totalitarianism and democracy: Perspectives on the philosophy of Hannah Arendt and the situation of the Saharawi people

Abstract

There is an Arab people in the world that lived through the experience of European imperialism and that, at the dawn of the decolonization process in the second half of the 20th century, within its own historical territory, was placed under an uncertain administration in charge of a third nation. Contrary to what may be intuited at first glance, this work will not be about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but about the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR, formerly Western Sahara), its occupation by Morocco and the Spanish legacy in the question. Within the world of aspects that lie in this topic, the starting point is the reflections on the thought of the German philosopher, Hannah Arendt, on the role of imperialism in the construction of authoritarianism within the colonies (which may at some point access its independence) and the political benefits that are assumed come with the transition to democracy. To this end, this work offers elements to evaluate the impact of the arrival of democracy in Spain on the question of sovereignty over the Saharawi territory, the impact on its inhabitants, and the internationalization scenario of the conflict that is set up with Morocco .