Jordan: Between the Arab Spring and the Gulf Cooperation Council

Orbis

Volumn 56, Issue 1, 2012, Pages 82-95

  Helfont, Samuel ^a   Helfont, Tally ^a  

^a PRINCETON UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 84858707447     PISSN: 00304387     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.orbis.2011.10.005     Document Type: Article

References (48)

1. Bernard Haykel, ''Saudi Arabia vs. the Arab Spring,'' Project Syndicate, August 16, 2011 www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/haykel4/English.
2. Paul Richter and Neela Banerjee, ''U.S.-Saudi Rivalry Intensifies,'' The Los Angeles Times, June 19, 2011;
3. And, ''In the Shadow of Popular Revolutions in the Region, the American-Saudi Competition to Win Jordan (Fi Zil al Thawrat al Sha'abiyyah bil-Mantaqah Tnafus Amriki Sa'udi lil-Fuz bil-Urdun),'' Al Jazeera, June 20, 2011 www.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/266FFCF0-9DB3-4429-ADB7-8471A8D81069.htm (in Arabic).
4. Brandon Freedman, ''GCC RISING: Is There a New Order Emerging In the Persian Gulf?'' Paper given at the 59th Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs, Berlin German, July 2011.
5. Interview by the Authors with Dr. Walid M. AlKhatib, a Researcher and Head of the Polling Unit at the Center for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan, July 21, 2011.
6. ''U.S.-Saudi Rivalry Intensifies.''
7. For example, in 2008 the U.S. and Jordanian governments reached an agreement whereby the United States agreed to provide a total of $660 million in annual foreign assistance to Jordan over a five-year period.
8. See: Jeremy M. Sharp, Jordan: Background and U.S. Relations (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service, 2011), p. 20.
9. Asher Susser, ''Jordan 2011: Uneasy Lies the Head,'' Middle East Brief No. 52. Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandeis University, June 2011, p. 2.
10. ''Country Backgrounder Series: Jordan,'' Project on Middle East Democracy, 2007, p. 3 http://pomed.org/docs/Jordan_Backgrounder.pdf.
11. Marwan Muasher, ''A Decade of Struggling Reform Efforts: The Resilience of the Rentier System.'' Carnegie Papers, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, May 2011, p. 22.
12. Muasher, p. vi.
13. Muasher, p. 22.
14. ''Country Backgrounder Series: Jordan,'' p. 4.
15. Jordan: Background and U.S. Relations, p. 5. Jordanians of Palestinian origin also make up a significant part of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood's political party, the Islamic Action Front (IAF).
16. See: Nathan J. Brown and Amr Hamzawy, Between Religion and Politics (Washington D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2010), p. 48.
17. It should be stated that these are very crude divisions. Over time, intermarriage has made it more difficult to discern distinct differences between the two communities, though divisions do persist. There are, of course, wealthy Jordanians of Palestinian origin that have a vested interest in the stability of the regime and oppose the Arab Spring. There are also East Bank elites that support the protest movement in Jordan. The king has attempted to play down sectarian differences (the king himself married a Jordanian of Palestinian origin) and made national unity a central pillar of all his successive reform initiatives and major national speeches.
18. Shmuel Bar, The Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan (Tel Aviv: Dayan Center, 1998), p. 16.
19. Susser, ''Jordan 2011: Uneasy Lies the Head,'' p. 2.
20. Some 2,000 odd gatherings were held between January and July 2011 across Jordan. However, protests died down almost altogether in August due to the holy month of Ramadan.
21. For more on the July 15, 2011 protests
22. see: Samuel Helfont and Tally Helfont, ''Jordan's Protests: Arab Spring Lite? FPRI E-Note, July 2011 www.fpri.org/enotes/2011/201107.helfont_helfont.jordan.html.
23. For example, see: Ethan Bronner, ''Protests Spur Shuffle of Jordan Cabinet,'' The New York Times, July 2, 2011.
24. Assaf David, ''The Revolt of Jordan's Military Veterans,'' Foreign Policy - The Middle East Channel, June 16, 2010 http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/06/15/the_revolt_of_jordans_military_veterans.
25. Susser, ''Jordan 2011: Uneasy Lies the Head,'' pp. 3-5. ''Statement by National Figures Warns of Dangers to Jordan if Reform Is Not Implemented Fast,'' Ammon News, February 6, 2011, http://en.ammonnews.net/print.aspx?Articleno=11523
26. ''Tribesmen in Jordan Issue Urgent Call for Political Reform,'' The New York Times, February 7, 2011.
27. ''Jordan: Background and U.S. Relations,'' p. 2. According to IAF Secretary-General Hamzah Mansur, ''There is no comparison between Egypt and Jordan. The people there demand a regime change, but here we ask for political reforms and an elected government.''
28. See: ''The Infection of Egypt's Protests May Be Transmitted ('Adwa Ihtijajat Misr Qad Tantaqil),'' Al Jazeera, February 1, 2011 www.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/10B46B77-761D-4CDA-81B1-F1FCE7C94CFE.htm.
29. Interview by the authors with Ambassador Karim Kawar, former Jordanian Ambassador to the United States, Amman, Jordan. July 4, 2011.
30. Susser, ''Jordan 2011: Uneasy Lies the Head,'' p. 5.
31. Interview by the authors with Naseem Tarawnah, activist, author of The Black Iris Blog and contributor to 7iber.com, Amman, Jordan, July 17, 2011.
32. Naseem Tarawnah Interview.
33. ''2011 Al Bakhit Government after the Passage of 100 Days (Hukumat Al Bakhit 2011 Ba'ad Murur 100 Yom),'' Center for Strategic Studies, University of Jordan, May 2011, pp. 17-18 www.jcss.org/UploadPolling/297.docx.
34. Naseem Tarawnah Interview
35. ''2011 Al Bakhit Government after the Passage of 100 Days,'' pp. 21, 14.
36. Naseem Tarawnah Interview.
37. Amb. Karim Kawar Interview
38. Curtis R. Ryan, ''Working Paper 7: Civil Society and Democratization in Jordan,'' Knowledge Programme Civil Society in West Asia, University of Amsterdam, June 2010, p. 13.
39. Ambassador Karim Kawar Interview.
40. Dr. Walid M. Alkhatib Interview.
41. Salih Al Qilab, ''Jordan and the Gulf Cooperation Council. . .What Are the Pros and Cons? (Al Urdun wa Majles al Ta'awun al Khaliji. . . ma lahu wa ma 'alihi),'' Al Sharq Al Awsat, May 19, 2011 www.aawsat.com/leader.asp?section=3andarticle=622315andissueno=11860.
42. ''Twin Banks (Al Dafatan Tawaman),'' Al Jazeera - Documentary, June 23, 2011; Available at this link: (www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q3UdHyaB0w (in Arabic).
43. During September 1970, or what became known as Black September (aylul al aswad), Palestinian forces located in Jordan and led by Yasser Arafat attempted to overthrow the Hashemite Monarchy.
44. Yasser Abu Hilala, ''Al Dafatan Tawaman?'' Al Ghad (Jordan), June 24, 2011 (in Arabic).
45. Speech of His Majesty King Abdullah II, Amman, Jordan, June 14, 2011 www.kingabdullah.jo/index.php/ar_JO/speeches/view/id/480/videoDisplay/0.html (in Arabic);
46. Speech of His Majesty King Abdullah II, Amman, Jordan, August 14, 2011 www.kingabdullah.jo/index.php/ar_JO/speeches/view/id/483/videoDisplay/0.html (in Arabic);
47. For a detailed chart of the proposed constitutional amendments
48. see: ''Recommendations made by the Royal Committee on Constitutional Review,'' The Jordan Times, August 15, 2011 www.jordantimes.com/?news=40408.