Mauritania

**Mauritania**, officially the **Aynaynian Republic of Mauritania**, is a country in northern Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria and Mali to the northeast, and Senegambia and Ghana to the south. It is an observer member of the Entente.

## History

### Independence

Mauritania gained independence following the collapse of National France in the aftermath of the Second Weltkrieg, in which the country immediately became embroiled in inner conflict between two opposing factions: the Mauritanian Entente (EM), a relative of the Senegalese Democratic Bloc that aligned closely with the Communards, and the Mauritanian Progressive Union (UPM), a conservative anti-syndicalist party that had been favored by the colonial government. Horma Ould Babana, the leader of the EM, won the first elections and led the country to vote for the creation of the Federation of West Africa.

### UPM-PRM Rule

With the Federation's collapse soon after its foundation, the EM was put in a tricky place politically, as the country's support for the International-backed Moroccan Confederation lost its support among ardent nationalists. The Entente cast its support towards the UPM, with the Pacific NIB rigging support in favor of the party, leading to the nationalist government of Sidi el-Mokhtar N'Diaye taking power in the following elections. N'Diaye, under heavy influence from prime minister Moktar Ould Daddah, intervened in the Moroccan War against the syndicalists, annexing all territories south of the 26° parallel as the new province of Tiris al-Gharbiyya. This province's boundaries caused a major border dispute with Morocco, which claimed the whole territory: a matter that was mediated by Canada by granting Morocco all territory north of Dakhia.

With Western support, the country was reorganized into a one-party state under the big-tent Mauritanian Regroupment Party, or PRM, as Ould Daddah led sweeping reforms in favor of the clerical class and Beidane. The party has purged opposition and shifted even further towards a nationalist direction, promoting the irredentist Greater Mauritania ideology as a centerpiece of the party's platform; this has caused friction with the country's neighbors and even within the Entente as the country pushes for recognition of its Saharan claims.

## Politics

Mauritania is a de facto one-party state headed by the Mauritanian Regroupment Party (PRM), a centralist and nationalist party closely associated with the Beidane, drawing international support from the Entente. However, its ultranationalist policies have drawn concern from its allies and neighbors, and while it pursues them, the military has made inroads among the Entente instead. Due to Ould Daddah's influence, N'Diaye has been regarded as a puppet and a figurehead president. He is expected to step down as Ould Daddah pushes for a new, reformed constitution that would cement the one-party state into law and abolish the semi-presidential system.

Outside of the PRM, one party, the Mauritanian National Renaissance Party (PRNM), often referred to as Nahda, an Arab nationalist party, has formed from a group of Arab ultranationalist and radical nationalist politicians, who have secretly aligned themselves with pro-Cairo Pact factions in Morocco.