Trapped between de-liberalization,politics of indentity and regional predicaments: "Lessons from the hashemite Kingdom of Jordan"

Abstract

The formation of identity in the Kingdom of Jordan offers a case that can easily be found in most part of the Middle East where multiple sub-state and supra-state identities demarcate and shape the formulation of popular identities. In this regard, it is significant to examine the politics of identities in the Middle Eastern societies given the existence of permeable ideologies and supra-state identities. The fallacy of democratization in the region has been closely tied with the notions of inclusiveness and exclusiveness, particularly when the 'incomplete' national identity-building projects in most parts of the Middle East are considered. For that purpose, the main objective of this article is not to re-assert the uniqueness of the politics in the Middle East, but rather to add to the growing literature on 'how politics of identities shape the process of democratization' in the Jordanian case under specific circumstances, particularly regarding normalizing ties with Israel since the 1994 peace and the outbreak of the al-Aqsa intifada in 2000. One of the most detrimental effects of the regional challenges on Jordan has been the retreat from political liberalization. Although the Kingdom initiated political opening in 1989 that has continued until now, the existence of a Palestinian majority in the Kingdom and the resurgence of Islamist movements in the region forced the Jordanian regime to take some preemptive measures to contain the newly-emerging opposition groups. Actually it was the finalization of the peace treaty with Israel in 1994 that primarily led the Kingdom to slow down its democratization efforts. Moreover, the 9/11 attacks and US-led 'war on terror campaign' recently persuaded the Hashemite regime to strictly monitor the activities of the Islamist groups in the country, including the Muslim Brotherhood Society (al-Ikhwan). The retreat from political liberalization due to the regional instabilities has brought an outcry from the Islamic Action Front (IAF) members, the political wing of the Ikhwan. In this respect, the main objective of this article is to illustrate the overriding effects of the two main regional challenges on the Jordanian political landscape: the unsettlement of the Palestinian problem and the instabilities in Iraqi territories. Jordan responded to these external effects with two strategies: re-building the Kingdom's politics of identity through its "Jordan First, Arab Second" campaign and de-liberalizing the political arena by undertaking some legal measures.