Jordan in transition / George Joffé, editor.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Joffé, E. G. H. (E. George H.)

Markaz al-Dirāsāt wa-al-Abḥāth ʻan al-Sharq al-Awsaṭ al-Muʻāṣir (Beirut, Lebanon)

Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. Jordan Office.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Economic conditions.

Social conditions.

Democratization.

Politics and government.

Jordan--Politics and government--1952-1999--Congresses.

Jordan.

Jordan--Politics and government--1999---Congresses.

Democratization--Jordan--Congresses.

Jordan--Social conditions--Congresses.

Jordan--Economic conditions--Congresses.

Genre:

Conference papers and proceedings.

Physical Description:

xxii, 378 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, N.Y. : Palgrave, 2002.

Summary:

Transition in Jordan is a multi-faceted process, in which each facet interacts with the other, forming a coherent interdependent system. Economic transition has been a consequence of Jordan's isolation from its markets in Iraq and the Gulf in the 1990s, but is also inherent in its participation in attempts to foster peace as a key factor in regional stability. This is the preferred option of King 'Abdullah II, and reflects the country's geostrategic options towards the United States and Europe. The Middle East peace process was the culmination of strategic choices made by Emir 'Abdullah I, even as Israel was being created, but it also reflects the domestic political situation in seeking to overcome demographic and cultural ruptures. Yet the domestic political situation is also contingent on the generational change in attitudes within the elite that followed King Hussain's death in 1999, and it remains to be seen to what extent political liberalisation is a genuine option or whether it remains subservient to the older imperatives of the neo-patrimonial state. It is also not yet clear whether King 'Abdullah's enthusiasm for Jordan's future within a globalised world will become a reality. Significant change within Jordan depends on the outcome of the Palestine/Israel conflict and the new relationships that it can forge with the wider world -- particularly with Europe, which will eventually become the dominant guarantor of regional stability because of its economic role within the Mediterranean and the wider Middle East. The crisis that came to a head in late 2001 between the United States and the Islamic world, whatever its implications, is unlikely to alter Jordan's perceptions of its own priorities.

Contents:

Walking the tightrope : Jordanian foreign policy from the Gulf Crisis to the peace process and beyond / Markus Bouillon

Governance, economic transition and Jordan's national security / Maen Nsour

The effects of external forces on Jordan's process of democratisation / Ali Kassay

Liberalisation or democratisation? The limits of political reform and civil society in Jordan / Ranjit Singh

Monarchical stability and political liberalisation : connections between Jordan and Morocco / David Mednicoff

Embedded authoritarianism : bureaucratic power and the limits to non-governmental organisations in Jordan / Quintan Wiktorowicz

The weakness of the ruled is the strength of the ruler : the role of the opposition in contemporary Jordan / Renate Dieterich

Household politics to domestic policies : the effect of demographic transition on socio-political patterns of domination / Françoise de Bel-Air

The social and political effects of transformation processes in Palestinian refugee camps in the Amman metropolitan area (1989-99) / Ala al-Hamarneh

Tribalism in Kerak : past memories, present realities / Christine Jungen

New museographic trends in Jordan : the strengthening of the nation / Irene Maffi

Transition to development? / Oliver Schlumberger

The political economy of reform in Jordan : breaking resistance to reform? / Hamid El-Said

Sectoral actors in the Jordanian economy / Nasim Barham

The effect of the World Trade Organisation on the Jordanian economy / Rateb Sweis

Development strategies and the political economy of tourism in contemporary Jordan / Matthew Gray

Mapping the landscape of the 'New Middle East' : the politics of tourism development and the peace process in Jordan / Waleed Hazbun

Social adaptive capacity to water crisis : the case of Jordan / Eugenia Ferragina.

Notes:

This book is the result of a conference held in Amman in June 2000, organised by the Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Moyen-Orient Contemporain (CERMOC) and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAF) Jordan Office.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0312295383

OCLC:

48092253

Online:

Publisher description