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© 2023-2024 Oriental Institute, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Kevin L. Schwartz, and Ameem Lutfi
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The events of 9/11 left a dark legacy on Jordanian politics. As the Hashemite Kingdom became imbricated in the U.S.- led War on Terror and, more broadly, Washington’s hegemonic march across the Middle East, authoritarian governance at home became more intolerant and repressive. This intertwining of foreign policy and domestic rule persists today. As Jordan continues to rely upon the U.S. for economic aid and military protection, the narrow margins of civil liberties and political rights have shrunk even further. Under King Abdullah, who had ascended to power in 1999, the Jordanian state enthusiastically cooperated with the U.S. as it instigated new wars in the Arab world. Its intelligence directorate worked closely with the CIA in counterterrorist operations against Salafi-jihadism, helping turn the kingdom into a critical node in the notorious (and illegal) extraordinary   renditions   program . The royal autocracy further facilitated the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq, becoming a logistical hub for the armada of American military forces, private contractors, and diplomatic traffic entering or exiting the Iraqi theater after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Afterwards, Jordan played an increasingly intimate role in U.S. war-making. It served as the multinational hub for the U.S.-led campaign against the Islamic State group in Syria starting in 2013, as well as partnering again with the CIA in covert   arms-smuggling   and   training   operations   for favored Syrian rebel groups. Today, the Syrian civil war has mostly dissipated, but America’s footprint has not. The U.S. is currently engaging in a broad expansion of its military forces across the country, some in secret installations only known when they are drawn into conflict—as in the January 2024 Iranian drone attack against an undisclosed American base on the Jordanian-Syrian border. Should the U.S. conduct its next major regional conflict against Iran, Jordan will inevitably be drawn into the fray. Such collaboration has made Jordan the closest Arab ally to the U.S. The kingdom has had warm ties with Washington since the late 1950s, when the monarchy adopted an avowedly anti- Communist stance in order to secure the diplomatic embrace and financial support of America during a period of regional instability. But following the 1994 peace treaty with Israel, the War on Terror catapulted Jordan into the highest echelon of U.S. client states. Diplomatically, no other Arab state—including even Saudi Arabia—became as warmly treated as Jordan, praised by every U.S. president since George W. Bush as an oasis   of   moderation   and   island   of   stability in the Arab world. Indeed, King Abdullah was the first Arab head of state to visit every U.S. president since Obama’s first term, and today no other regional leader visits Washington, DC as frequently as he. Economically, Jordan has reaped ever-rising volumes of U.S. aid, much of it in the form of cash grants that enable its debt-strapped government to stave off insolvency. It currently receives a minimum baseline of $1 billion of American economic assistance every year, making Jordan the fourth   highest   per   capita   recipient of U.S. aid in the world, behind only Israel, Ukraine, and Ethiopia. The country badly needs such funding, not least because its own economy struggles with unemployment over 20 percent, the costly overhead of accommodating Syrian refugees, and dire water shortages. And militarily, Jordan enjoyed unprecedented protection behind the aegis of America’s escalating presence in the country. 1 The 2021 U.S.-Jordan Defense Cooperation Agreement essentially turned the kingdom into a new staging ground for American forces, who no longer require visas to enter the country. Jordan’s borders with Syria and Iraq, likewise, are now the most secure they have ever been, due to a U.S.-funded and Raytheon-built surveillance system installed on these frontier zones in 2013. As Jordan’s fate has become intertwined with the geopolitical machinations of Washington, the ruling Hashemite monarchy has clamped down upon popular opposition. In the 1990s, the late King Hussein presided over a tepid, but real, period of political liberalization. He ended martial law, legalized political parties, restored parliament, and instilled frail hopes for democratization among many activists and opposition groups. With the War on Terror, however, the Jordanian regime rolled back much of these liberal concessions, justifying every curtailment of basic freedoms through the relentless demands of national security. 2 Parliament, for instance, was suspended from 2001 to 2003, allowing the king and his appointed government to rule by decree. While general elections have occurred regularly since then, the legislative body has remained a toothless organ despite periodic royal promises for democratic reform. Indeed, since the early 2000s, periodic amendments to laws governing civil society, the press, political parties, and even religion have constricted the space in which ordinary citizens can criticize the government, craft social movements, and mobilize on the street. The 2011-12 Arab Spring interrupted this trend, as authorities wisely chose to tolerate most of the protests that erupted amidst public demands for democratic change and economic justice. Yet by 2013, the overall pattern of political regression had returned. The 2023 Cybercrimes Law, enacted despite mass outcry, is a case in point. The law treats anything   that   Jordanians   do   online as equivalent to offline political action. Now, even “liking” a Facebook post complaining about state corruption or Jordan’s close ties with a Gulf state can ensnare a youthful activist with arrest. Outright repression, likewise, has escalated. Utilizing the much-expanded intelligence and policing capabilities that evolved in the post-9/11 years thanks to American assistance, authorities regularly arrested, prosecuted, and penalized an astonishing array of critics—Islamists, activists, writers, protesters, artists, and others—whose actions were deemed threatening to political stability. To be sure, the days of tortuous interrogations and mass political imprisonment are mostly over. In their place, though, is a softer type of suppression, in which ambiguous laws allow public prosecutors to slap mountainous charges of disturbing public order, harming Jordan’s reputation, and other vague crimes upon political targets. Often, such arbitrary repression occurs so silently and swiftly that even human rights monitors have trouble tracking these cases. Other times, crackdowns are public and volatile, reminding the populace that the Hashemite state will brook no real opposition to its policies. In August 2020, for instance, the government closed the 100,000-strong teachers’ union and detained its leadership, less than a year after the syndicate had successfully waged a strike for higher wages. Moreover, since October 2023, thousands   of   Jordanian   activists have suffered arrest for their organizing, participating, and marching in anti-Israel rallies across the kingdom. As autocratic rule has intensified, the U.S. has heaped unremitting acclaim for its Arab ally. American officials never publicly criticize how the Jordanian government operates, falling back instead on the familiar trope that the Hashemite Kingdom deserves all the aid and arms it needs given its moderate, stable, and pro-Western orientation—and, above all, its peace treaty with Israel. Ironically, that superlative support forged in the fires of American war-making has accelerated Jordan’s authoritarian slide. It provides cover for the ruling monarchy, as it has securitized and tightened the labyrinth of laws that suffocate the capacity of ordinary Jordanians to participate in politics on their own terms.
Source: Raya Sharbain
September 5, 2024
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Source: Raya Sharbain
The events of 9/11 left a dark legacy on Jordanian politics. As the Hashemite Kingdom became imbricated in the U.S.-led War on Terror and, more broadly, Washington’s hegemonic march across the Middle East, authoritarian governance at home became more intolerant and repressive. This intertwining of foreign policy and domestic rule persists today. As Jordan continues to rely upon the U.S. for economic aid and military protection, the narrow margins of civil liberties and political rights have shrunk even further. Under King Abdullah, who had ascended to power in 1999, the Jordanian state enthusiastically cooperated with the U.S. as it instigated new wars in the Arab world. Its intelligence directorate worked closely with the CIA in counterterrorist operations against Salafi- jihadism, helping turn the kingdom into a critical node in the notorious (and illegal) extraordinary renditions   program . The royal autocracy further facilitated the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq, becoming a logistical hub for the armada of American military forces, private contractors, and diplomatic traffic entering or exiting the Iraqi theater after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Afterwards, Jordan played an increasingly intimate role in U.S. war-making. It served as the multinational hub for the U.S.-led campaign against the Islamic State group in Syria starting in 2013, as well as partnering again with the CIA in covert       arms-smuggling       and       training operations     for favored Syrian rebel groups. Today, the Syrian civil war has mostly dissipated, but America’s footprint has not. The U.S. is currently engaging in a broad expansion of its military forces across the country, some in secret installations only known when they are drawn into conflict—as in the January 2024 Iranian drone attack against an undisclosed American base on the Jordanian-Syrian border. Should the U.S. conduct its next major regional conflict against Iran, Jordan will inevitably be drawn into the fray. Such collaboration has made Jordan the closest Arab ally to the U.S. The kingdom has had warm ties with Washington since the late 1950s, when the monarchy adopted an avowedly anti- Communist stance in order to secure the diplomatic embrace and financial support of America during a period of regional instability. But following the 1994 peace treaty with Israel, the War on Terror catapulted Jordan into the highest echelon of U.S. client states. Diplomatically, no other Arab state—including even Saudi Arabia—became as warmly treated as Jordan, praised by every U.S. president since George W. Bush as an oasis   of   moderation   and island    of    stability in the Arab world. Indeed, King Abdullah was the first Arab head of state to visit every U.S. president since Obama’s first term, and today no other regional leader visits Washington, DC as frequently as he. Economically, Jordan has reaped ever-rising volumes of U.S. aid, much of it in the form of cash grants that enable its debt-strapped government to stave off insolvency. It currently receives a minimum baseline of $1 billion of American economic assistance every year, making Jordan the fourth    highest    per    capita recipient of U.S. aid in the world, behind only Israel, Ukraine, and Ethiopia. The country badly needs such funding, not least because its own economy struggles with unemployment over 20 percent, the costly overhead of accommodating Syrian refugees, and dire water shortages. And militarily, Jordan enjoyed unprecedented protection behind the aegis of America’s escalating presence in the country. 1 The 2021 U.S.-Jordan Defense Cooperation Agreement essentially turned the kingdom into a new staging ground for American forces, who no longer require visas to enter the country. Jordan’s borders with Syria and Iraq, likewise, are now the most secure they have ever been, due to a U.S.-funded and Raytheon-built surveillance system installed on these frontier zones in 2013. As Jordan’s fate has become intertwined with the geopolitical machinations of Washington, the ruling Hashemite monarchy has clamped down upon popular opposition. In the 1990s, the late King Hussein presided over a tepid, but real, period of political liberalization. He ended martial law, legalized political parties, restored parliament, and instilled frail hopes for democratization among many activists and opposition groups. With the War on Terror, however, the Jordanian regime rolled back much of these liberal concessions, justifying every curtailment of basic freedoms through the relentless demands of national security. 2 Parliament, for instance, was suspended from 2001 to 2003, allowing the king and his appointed government to rule by decree. While general elections have occurred regularly since then, the legislative body has remained a toothless organ despite periodic royal promises for democratic reform. Indeed, since the early 2000s, periodic amendments to laws governing civil society, the press, political parties, and even religion have constricted the space in which ordinary citizens can criticize the government, craft social movements, and mobilize on the street. The 2011-12 Arab Spring interrupted this trend, as authorities wisely chose to tolerate most of the protests that erupted amidst public demands for democratic change and economic justice. Yet by 2013, the overall pattern of political regression had returned. The 2023 Cybercrimes Law, enacted despite mass outcry, is a case in point. The law treats anything   that Jordanians    do    online as equivalent to offline political action. Now, even “liking” a Facebook post complaining about state corruption or Jordan’s close ties with a Gulf state can ensnare a youthful activist with arrest. Outright repression, likewise, has escalated. Utilizing the much-expanded intelligence and policing capabilities that evolved in the post- 9/11 years thanks to American assistance, authorities regularly arrested, prosecuted, and penalized an astonishing array of critics—Islamists, activists, writers, protesters, artists, and others—whose actions were deemed threatening to political stability. To be sure, the days of tortuous interrogations and mass political imprisonment are mostly over. In their place, though, is a softer type of suppression, in which ambiguous laws allow public prosecutors to slap mountainous charges of disturbing public order, harming Jordan’s reputation, and other vague crimes upon political targets. Often, such arbitrary repression occurs so silently and swiftly that even human rights monitors have trouble tracking these cases. Other times, crackdowns are public and volatile, reminding the populace that the Hashemite state will brook no real opposition to its policies. In August 2020, for instance, the government closed the 100,000-strong teachers’ union and detained its leadership, less than a year after the syndicate had successfully waged a strike for higher wages. Moreover, since October 2023, thousands    of    Jordanian    activists have suffered arrest for their organizing, participating, and marching in anti-Israel rallies across the kingdom. As autocratic rule has intensified, the U.S. has heaped unremitting acclaim for its Arab ally. American officials never publicly criticize how the Jordanian government operates, falling back instead on the familiar trope that the Hashemite Kingdom deserves all the aid and arms it needs given its moderate, stable, and pro-Western orientation—and, above all, its peace treaty with Israel. Ironically, that superlative support forged in the fires of American war-making has accelerated Jordan’s authoritarian slide. It provides cover for the ruling monarchy, as it has securitized and tightened the labyrinth of laws that suffocate the capacity of ordinary Jordanians to participate in politics on their own terms.
© 2023-2024 Oriental Institute, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Kevin L. Schwartz, and Ameem Lutfi
Jordan: Deepening Authoritarianism
Written by
Associate Professor of Political Science at Temple University in Philadelphia, U.S.A.
If you are interested in contributing an article for the project, please send a short summary of the proposed topic (no more than 200 words) and brief bio to submissions@911legacies.com. For all other matters, please contact inquiry@911legacies.com.
CONTACT