Building Territorial Resilience through Economic Diversification: A Qualitative Analysis of the Strategies of Energy Transition Actors in Morocco.

Abstract

In a context of climate change and growing energy challenges, energy transition represents a major issue for the construction of territorial resilience. Morocco, a regional pioneer in renewable energies, offers a privileged field of study to understand how the strategies of different actors contribute to strengthening the capacity for adaptation and transformation of territories. This qualitative research aims to identify and analyze the mechanisms by which the strategies of actors involved in the energy transition participate in the construction of territorial resilience through economic diversification. A nested multiple case study was conducted with 37 actors divided into three categories: strategic public actors (n=8), operational private actors (n=17), and local territorial actors (n=12). Data collected through semi-structured interviews and secondary documentation were analyzed via thematic content analysis assisted by NVivo 12. The results reveal the existence of differentiated but complementary strategies articulated around three main mechanisms: economic diversification, strengthening of local capacities, and the development of new forms of collaborative governance. This research contributes to enriching the understanding of territorial dynamics of energy transition and proposes a conceptual model integrating the strategic, economic, and territorial dimensions of resilience.