Les dynamiques de contre-pouvoir dans le discours contestataire numérique des étudiants en médecine au Maroc : cas des contestations de 2023
Dynamics of Counter-Power in the Digital Protest Discourse of Medical Students in Morocco: The Case of the 2023 Mobilizations

Summary/Abstract: Over the past decade, Morocco has witnessed a marked intensification of protest dynamics through a series of popular mobilizations, such as the February 20 Movement (2011), the Hirak of the Rif (2016), and the boycott campaigns (2018). Initially driven by socio-economic demands, these forms of activism are characterized by the increasing use of digital spaces as alternative arenas for mobilization, debate, and resistance. The 2023 protests by medical students are fully embedded in this continuum, marking a turning point in the relationship between citizens and institutions. Supported by intense cyberactivist activity, this movement has demonstrated the capacity of digital discourse to act as a structuring counter-power. The central issue addressed in this study concerns the forms of discursive counter-power exercised within the digital spaces occupied by protesting students. The aim is to understand how these discourses contribute to the reconfiguration of power relations through two complementary dimensions: on the one hand, a power of structuration and conjunctural reactivity, which makes it possible to organize claims, stabilize interpretive frames, and respond to contextual developments; on the other hand, a power of mobilization and collective adhesion, which fosters engagement, the circulation of statements, and the construction of a shared enunciative voice. The analysis draws on a theoretical perspective that brings together the Foucauldian notion of discursive power, Marie-Anne Paveau’s technodiscursive approach, and recent work on platformization, algorithmic visibility, and digital mobilizations. By combining critical discourse analysis of protest with research on social movements and cyberactivism, this study shows that digital activism is not merely a virtual extension of protest, but a situated mode of structuring, visibility, and legitimization of claims, shaped by discursive forms, technical devices, and the platform-specific conditions of circulation.

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