The global presence index, developed by The Royal Elcano Institute For international and strategic studies in Spain, confirms that the United States remains the most influential country on the international scene, clearly outclassing China. Despite his efforts, Beijing has not yet managed to dethrone Washington. This annual index assesses the global commitment of countries through three main dimensions: economics, military and soft power, encompassing culture, sport, science, education and migration.
Morocco is positioned in 52nd place in the world with a score of 37.7 points. In the undanticators, he obtained 15.2 points on the economic level, ranking 55th, and 13.4 points in the military dimension, evaluated according to the deployment of forces abroad and the importance of military equipment. For the soft power, Morocco obtains 9.1 points, including cultural, scientific, educational and technological exchanges.
Among the Arab countries, Morocco is seventh, preceded by Saudi Arabia (17th in the global classification), the United Arab Emirates (19th), Egypt (35th), Qatar (45th), Algeria (49th) and Iraq (51st). In the Maghreb, Morocco follows Algeria but is ahead of Tunisia (74th), Libya (90th) and Mauritania (149th). On the scale of the African continent, Morocco ranked fourth, behind Egypt (35ᵉ), South Africa (38ᵉ) and Algeria (49ᵉ).
Globally, the United States dominates with a score of 3438 points, consolidating their leading position since the creation of the index in 1990. This score is almost double that of China, second with 1978 points. Germany follows, then Japan in fourth position with 878 points, and the United Kingdom in fifth with 866 points. Japan maintains a stable external presence despite its economic challenges, while the United Kingdom continues to shine thanks to its soft power, a reflection of its cultural, scientific and educational influence.
The report highlights a notable change in the global system: the globalization phase of the 1990s, marked by a decline in the hard power in favor of the soft power, seems to be over. In recent years, with the rise of geopolitical tensions, there is a gradual return of the military dimension, many countries reinforcing their external presence by military equipment and the deployment of troops, testifying to an evolution of international relations and the balanced power balances.
Manuel Garcia, project coordinator at the Royal Elcano Institute, stressed that commercial protectionism is again perceived “as a foreign policy”. He warns that “in the new world system, with the rise of nationalism and unilateralism, external dependence is seen as a weakness”.
