‘Lateral’ Protégés, Risk Capital, and Manufacturing in Pre-Protectorate Morocco: Considering the Würth Case

Abstract

ABSTRACT:The case of the Swiss businessman Armin Würth who, as a third-country, or what we might call a ‘lateral’, protégé of the United States, sought to invest in manufacturing in pre-Protectorate Morocco highlights both the dysfunctionality of the protégé system and the difficult environment, a reflection of the complex set of domestic and international dynamics, that worked to stifle initiative for economic development.