MER Article Permanent Transients “We do not know our destiny. The Jordanian government might ask us to leave at any moment,” said Hana, a widow in her fifties. “There is no rest for a guest.” Isis Nusair • 20 min read
Current Analysis The Jordanian State Buys Itself Time For months prior to Jordan’s parliamentary elections, concluded on January 23, both the state apparatus and the opposition had been building up the contests as a moment of truth. The state presented the polls as a critical juncture in the execution of its strategy of gradual political reform; the op Nicholas Seeley • 14 min read
Current Analysis Why Not Jordan? The November 13 withdrawal of fuel and electricity subsidies has sparked vigorous demonstrations [http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2012/11/13/protests-break-out-in-jordan-mention-king-by-name/] in Jordan, prompting renewed speculation about whether the wave of Arab uprisings that be Pete Moore • 4 min read
MER Article The Emergence of a New Labor Movement in Jordan Although Jordan may appear little affected by the Arab uprisings, as early as January 2011 Jordanians were in the streets for the same reasons Tunisians and Egyptians were: protesting against economic conditions and privatization of state resources, demanding the resignation of the prime minister an Fida Adely • 11 min read
Current Analysis Washington's Bahrain in the Levant Despite sharing some of the socio-economic and political problems that propelled uprisings in other Arab countries, Jordan remains an exception to the trend. And if it can be kept that way, much of the world inside the Beltway will celebrate. Pete Moore • 2 min read
Current Analysis Jordan's Balancing Act When anti-monarchical revolution swept the Middle East in the 1950s, Jordan was one of the few populous Arab states to keep its king. King ‘Abdallah II, son of Hussein, the sole Hashemite royal to ride out the republican wave, has all the credentials to perform a similar balancing act. Aged 49, he h Nicolas Pelham • 12 min read
MER Article Guilty Bystanders The Iran-Iraq war was fought entirely within the boundaries of the two combatant nations, but it was nonetheless a regional war. The war machine of Saddam Hussein’s regime was lubricated with billions of dollars in loans from the Arab oil monarchies, which were anxious to see the revolutionary state Pete Moore • 15 min read
MER Article The Politics of Aid to Iraqi Refugees in Jordan The school in Dahiyat Amir Hasan in East Amman is only half-finished, but even through the rubble and the clouds of concrete dust it is clear that the education there will be very different than in Jordan’s other government-run schools. The classrooms are spacious and positioned around multi-purpose Nicholas Seeley • 18 min read
Current Analysis "We Are All Jordan"...But Who Is We? Like most countries around the world, Jordan has been gripped with World Cup fever. Since their national team was not in the tournament, Jordanians rallied around perennial favorites Brazil, Italy, Argentina and Germany. They advertised their loyalties with flags draped over windows, balconies, cars and shoulders, and traded half-joking taunts Curtis Ryan • 15 min read
Current Analysis Jordan's Risky Business As Usual Political reformers in Jordan are struck by a sense of déjà vu. Jordan has been parliament-free since November 2009, when King ‘Abdallah II dissolved the legislature for not moving fast enough on his program of economic reform. The deputies had yet served even half of their four-year terms. Since th Jillian Schwedler • 14 min read
MER Article Waking the Red-Dead “Look at that!” said Muhammad ‘Asfour, an environmentalist and avid nature photographer, pointing to a picture of a boat and wooden staircase perched well above the Jordanian shore of the Dead Sea. “Do you see how far they are from the waterline?” Lizabeth Zack • 6 min read
MER Article No Shelter “Angela” came to Jordan to work as a housekeeper because she is a single mother and needs to save for her children’s schooling. She paid a recruiter in the Philippines 11,000 pesos, about $234, “for the processing of my papers.” An hour before she went to the airport, she says, she signed a contract Rola Abimourched • 13 min read
