The Palgrave Handbook of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

This Handbook presents a broad yet nuanced portrait of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, its socio-political rifts, economic challenges, foreign policy priorities and historical complexities. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has traditionally been an oasis of peace and stability in the ever-turbulent Middle East. The political ambitions of regional powers, often expressed in the form of territorial aggrandisement, have followed the Hashemites like an inseparable shadow. The scarcity of natural resources, especially water, has been compounded by the periodic influx of refugees from its neighbours. As a result, many--Arab and non-Arab alike--have questioned the longevity and survival of Jordan. These uncertainties were compounded when the founding ruler, King Abdullah I, became involved in the nascent Palestinian problem at the end of World War II. The annexation of the eastern part of Mandate Palestine or the West Bank in the wake of the 1948 War transformed the Jordanian demography and sowed the seeds of an uneasy relationship with the Palestinian component of its population, citizens, residents and refugees. Though better natural resources and stronger leaders have not ensured political stability in many Arab and non-Arab countries, Jordan has been an exception. Indeed, since its formation as an Emirate by the British in 1921, the Kingdom has seen only four rulers, a testimony to the sagacity and political foresight of the Hashemites. The Hashemites have managed to sustain the semi-rentier model primarily through international aid and assistance, which in turn inhibits Jordan from pursuing rapid political and economic reforms. Though a liberal, multi-religious and multicultural society, Jordan has been hampered by social cleavages especially between the tribal population and the forces of modernization. -- Provided by publisher, page 4 of cover Acknowledgements 6 Contents 9 Notes on Contributors 13 List of Figures 25 List of Tables 26 Introduction 27 Land, Ecology, and Natural Resources 28 Evolution of Jordan 29 Historical Legacy 32 Society and Population 33 Islam 36 Demography 37 Economy 39 Domestic Politics 40 The Palestinian Dimension 45 Relations with Israel 48 Conclusion 51 References 51 Part I: Society 53 From Small Sheikhdom to Over-Population 54 Ethno-religious Composition of the Jordanian Citizenry Population 55 The Components of Population Growth 56 The Influx of Palestinians into the East Bank 56 High Natural Increase Rate (NIR) of the Jordanian National Population 59 From Labour Surplus to Labour Shortage: The Influx of the Foreign Labour 63 Non-Palestinian Refugees in Jordan 66 Jordan’s Natalist Policy 67 What Next? 72 The Foreign Workers 73 Labour Immigration Since the 1970s 74 Supporting the Rentier Welfare State 74 The Reform Process Since the 1990s 76 Concerns, Policies, and Regulations Governing the Entry and Recruitment of Foreign Labourers 77 Foreign Workers in Jordan: A Snapshot 82 Socio-political Underpinnings and Stakes of Foreign Labour Migration 86 Pan-Arabism’s Political Inheritance and Inflows of Refugees to Jordan 87 The Legacy of the Rentier State: Migrants and the Redistribution Process 87 Human Resource Needs Versus the Segmentation of the Labour Market 88 Keeping Migrants in Irregular Situation: A Political Asset 89 Political and Financial Rent-Seeking in International Relations 89 Conclusion 90 References 91 Minorities 93 The Ottoman Empire, King Abdullah, and Beyond 94 Refugees 95 Ethnic Minorities 98 Religious Minorities 99 Conclusion 101 References 102 Christians in Jordan 104 Legal Framework 108 Social Landscape 110 Religious Sites 112 References 115 Circassians 116 Circassians in Jordan and Beyond 117 Forced Migration and Settlement 119 Construction of Emirate of Transjordan 121 Circassians in the Hashemite Kingdom 122 Current Trends 124 Collective Identity 125 Education, Culture, and the Ethno-cultural Identity 127 Circassian Ethno-nationalism 129 Conclusions 132 References 134 Part II: Economy and Environment 137 Political Economy 138 Structural Challenges and Limitations to Development 139 Political and Economic Policymaking in a Reformist Monarchy 144 Energy Insecurity and Policy Responses 146 Freshwater Scarcity 149 Neoliberal Economic Policies 151 Conclusion 154 References 155 Environmental Challenges 156 Environmental Challenges Facing Jordan 157 Water Security 158 Energy Security 159 Desertification 159 Land Degradation 160 Loss of Biodiversity 160 Rapid Urbanisation 160 Establishment of the Ministry of Environment 161 Environmental NGOs and Activism 162 The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) 162 The Emergence of Environmental NGOs 163 Impact on Decision Makers 164 Environmental Activism Following the Arab Spring 165 Save Bergesh Forest Campaign 166 The Controversy over Nuclear Energy 168 Conclusion 170 References 171 Sustainable Development 172 Environmental Issues 174 Social Issues 175 Economic Issues 178 Regional Dynamics 179 Response and Policies 181 Challenges 183 References 183 Smoking 186 The Ottoman Empire and Mandate Jordan 187 Smoking in Modern Jordan 189 Cigarette Smuggling 193 Tobacco Control in Jordan 195 Conclusion 197 References 198 Part III: Politics and Identity 200 Citizenship 201 What Is Citizenship? 202 Jinsiyyah and Muwātanah: What Do We Call Citizenship? 203 Textual and Legal Foundations: The Constitution 205 Textual and Legal Foundations: The Nationality Law (No. 6 of 1954—Amended 1987) 207 Citizenship in Practice 208 Conclusion 213 References 213 Composite Nationalism Re-visited 215 The First Stage: 1921/46–51—Arabism First 218 The Second Stage: 1952–63—Building State Nationalism 221 Stage 3: 1963–88—All Living Under the Hashemite Crown on the East Bank Are Jordanian, but Jordan Has a Special Responsibility to Its Brother People, the Palestinians on the West Bank 224 Stage 4: 1988–Present—Original East Bankers Are Jordanian, but Not All of Those Living on the East Bank Are Jordanian by Nationality 228 Conclusion 232 King Abdullah I 234 The 1948 War and the Realisation of Abdullah’s Political Ambitions 239 Arab Nationalism and the Assassination of King Abdullah 245 Conclusions 249 References 249 King Hussein (1935–99) 251 Coronation 251 The Suez Crisis and the Aftermath 252 End of the Fling with Pan-Arabism 254 Black September 256 Sadat’s Perfidy 257 Hope for Peace 259 Long Live the King! 259 References 260 The Arab Legion 261 The Origins of the Arab Legion 261 Peake’s Legion 263 Glubb’s Legion 266 The 1948 War 269 Border Wars and Arab Nationalism 271 Arabisation of the Arab Legion 272 Conclusion 273 Muslim Brotherhood and Salafism 274 The Muslim Brotherhood: From Cooperation to Confrontation 275 Cooperation: Loyalty to the Regime 276 Confrontation: Adopting the Role of Oppositional Force 278 Salafism in Jordan: Between Cooperation, Opposition, and Confrontation 283 Origins and Early Development of Salafism in Jordan 284 Divisions Among Salafis: Domestication, Politicisation, and Confrontation 286 Conclusion 292 References 293 The West Bank Under Jordan 294 Politics of East Bank/West Bank Unification 296 The West Bank: Social and Economic Data 298 West Bank-East Bank Politics 1948–1957 300 West Bank-East Bank Politics 1957–67 306 Epilogue 310 References 311 Jerusalem: Hashemite Quest for Legitimacy 312 Jerusalem Under Jordanian Rule 313 The June 1967 War and Its Aftermath 315 Peace with Israel 317 Abdullah II Reign Since 1999 319 Al-Haram Al-Sharif (Temple Mount) Controversy 2014–17 323 Conclusion 324 References 325 Jordan-Hamas Relations 327 Jordan, Hamas, and the Palestinian Movement 327 The Turning Point 329 Changing Regional Dynamics in the Twenty-First Century 332 Arab Spring and the Marginalisation of Hamas 333 Even a Weak Hamas Is a Rival 336 Conclusion 338 Reference 338 Political Reforms 339 A Prelude to the Reforms: 1980–88 340 Defensive Democratisation, 1989–93 341 De-Liberalisation, 1993–99 343 Stabilisation of the Authoritarian Regime, 1999–2010 346 Hybridisation of the Political System, 2010–17 350 Conclusions 354 References 355 The Palestinians 357 The Arab Spring Protests 364 Jordanian-Palestinian: Entangled Fate and Shared Destiny 368 References 369 Part IV: Foreign Policy and Security 370 Foreign Policy Under King Hussein 371 Volatile Environment 1952–58 371 Towards Arab Unity, 1958–67 374 Civil War and Survival, 1967–71 376 Regional Balance of Power, 1971–91 379 The Post-Cold War Era, 1991–99 381 Conclusion 383 References 384 Foreign Policy Under King Abdullah II 386 Jordan-US Relations 387 Jordan-EU Relations 389 Jordan-Russia Relations 390 Jordan-UK Relations 393 Jordan-China Relations 394 Jordan-France Relations 395 Jordan-Japan Relations 397 Jordan-Israel Relations 398 Jordan and Palestine 400 Jordan and Syrian Crisis 401 Jordan and GCC Countries 402 Conclusion 403 References 404 Relations with Saudi Arabia 406 The Early Phase 408 The Era of Growing Cooperation 410 Alliance or Dependence? 413 Economic Dependence 413 Security Alliance 415 Conclusion 417 References 418 A Century of Israel-Jordan Relations 420 Relations from 1921 to 1947 420 The 1948 War 422 Armistice Negotiations and Their Aftermath 424 References 433 Jordanian-Israeli Relations Under King Hussein 434 References 446 Rabin and Hussein: From Enemies at War to Partners in Peace 447 Background and Personality Differences 448 Post-June War Era 451 Renewed Contacts 1984–90 453 References 458 The ISIS 459 Jordan’s Fertile Ground 460 ISIS Enters the Scene 464 Jordan in the Islamic State’s Crosshairs 466 Jordan Pushes Back 470 References 472 National Security Priorities 474 Overview of Jordan’s Modern History 474 Seismic Demographic Waves Hit Jordan 476 Politics, Conflicts, and Terrorism 478 Water Scarcity 483 Conclusion 484 References 486 Annexure 487 Key Information 487 Socio-economic Indicators (2017 Figures) 487 Bibliography 489 Index 530 Front Matter ....Pages i-xxix Introduction (P. R. Kumaraswamy)....Pages 1-26 Front Matter ....Pages 27-27 From Small Sheikhdom to Over-Population (Onn Winckler)....Pages 29-47 The Foreign Workers (Françoise De Bel-Air)....Pages 49-68 Minorities (Miranda Egan Langley)....Pages 69-79 Christians in Jordan (Nanneke Wisman)....Pages 81-92 Circassians (Chen Bram, Yasmine Shawwaf)....Pages 93-113 Front Matter ....Pages 115-115 Political Economy (Imad El-Anis)....Pages 117-134 Environmental Challenges (Moshe Terdiman)....Pages 135-150 Sustainable Development (Manjari Singh)....Pages 151-164 Smoking (Sean Foley)....Pages 165-178 Front Matter ....Pages 179-179 Citizenship (Paul Esber)....Pages 181-194 Composite Nationalism Re-visited (Alexander Bligh, Gadi Hitman)....Pages 195-213 King Abdullah I (Ronen Yitzhak)....Pages 215-231 King Hussein (1935–99) (Md. Muddassir Quamar)....Pages 233-242 The Arab Legion (Graham Jevon)....Pages 243-255 Muslim Brotherhood and Salafism (Joas Wagemakers)....Pages 257-276 The West Bank Under Jordan (Avraham Sela)....Pages 277-294 Jerusalem: Hashemite Quest for Legitimacy (Yitzhak Reiter)....Pages 295-309 Jordan-Hamas Relations (Hillel Frisch)....Pages 311-322 Political Reforms (Artur Malantowicz)....Pages 323-340 The Palestinians (Donna Robinson Divine)....Pages 341-353 Front Matter ....Pages 355-355 Foreign Policy Under King Hussein (Victoria Silva Sánchez)....Pages 357-371 Foreign Policy Under King Abdullah II (Faisal Odeh Al-Rfouh)....Pages 373-392 Relations with Saudi Arabia (Md. Muddassir Quamar)....Pages 393-406 A Century of Israel-Jordan Relations (Meron Medzini)....Pages 407-420 Jordanian-Israeli Relations Under King Hussein (Russell E. Lucas)....Pages 421-433 Rabin and Hussein: From Enemies at War to Partners in Peace (Meron Medzini)....Pages 435-446 The ISIS (Tally Helfont)....Pages 447-461 National Security Priorities (Hayat Alvi)....Pages 463-475 Back Matter ....Pages 477-536