Middle East Research and Information Project

Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

Jillian Schwedler

Jillian Schwedler is professor of politics at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Jillian has been a member of MERIP’s editorial committee and board of directors.

Current Analysis

Middle East Reform: Right Idea, Wrong Plan

Democratic reforms in the Middle East and North Africa are both warranted and wanted—not only among the leaders who gathered earlier this month on Sea Island for the G8 Summit but also by the majority of the region’s citizens. While there is little agreement on what form change should take, the mos

Maren Milligan, Jillian Schwedler • 3 min read

MER Article

Aida Dabbas

MERIP mourns the passing of Aida Hashim al-Dabbas, who died of cancer on November 1, 2003. A dedicated grassroots activist, Aida gave the last seven years of her life to advocacy for peace and justice in Palestine, the welfare of the Iraqi people, and political and civil freedoms in her home country

Jillian Schwedler • 3 min read

MER Article

More Than a Mob

Tens of thousands of Jordanians took to the streets in support of Palestinians during the March and April 2002 Israeli invasions of seven of eight major towns in the West Bank. Remarkable enough for their sheer size (Jordan’s population is just over five million), most of these marches and

Jillian Schwedler • 16 min read

Current Analysis

Occupied Maan

An expanded campaign to silence outspoken critics of the Jordanian government has followed the October 20 assassination of USAID official Lawrence Foley in Amman. On the pretext of unsubstantiated speculation that Foley's killing was orchestrated by a group of Islamist militants, the regime has arrested foreign and local

Jillian Schwedler • 9 min read

Current Analysis

Don't Blink

On June 26, Jordan's King Abdallah II issued a royal decree pardoning former parliamentarian Toujan Faisal, who had been sentenced on May 16 to 18 months in jail for "seditious libel" and "spreading information deemed harmful to the reputation of the state." Faisal's release "on humanitarian grounds

Jillian Schwedler • 8 min read

MER Article

A Paradox of Democracy?

On April 27, 1997, Muhammad Zabara stood outside a polling station in the old city of Sanaa. In a neatly pressed suit and tie, his short hair and mustache freshly trimmed, he greeted voters who had turned out for Yemen’s second post-unification parliamentary elections. A team of Western election mon

Jillian Schwedler • 12 min read

MER Article

Protesting Sanctions Against Iraq

Aida Dabbas is program officer for the Jordanian-American Binational Fulbright Commission in Amman. She has been an active opponent of the sanctions against Iraq and of the US arms buildup in the region. Jillian Schwedler, an editor of this magazine, spoke with her by telephone in June. You recentl

Jillian Schwedler • 6 min read

MER Article

Bread Riots in Jordan

On August 13, the Jordanian government lifted its subsidies on wheat. When bread prices immediately doubled, residents of the southern town of Karak demonstrated against the move, calling for a reversal of the policy and the resignation of the prime minister. The protests deteriorated into riots tha

Lamis Andoni, Jillian Schwedler • 10 min read