There is no doubt that there is growing
discontent in Jordan, a sentiment that, combined with high levels of economic
hardship, creates social and political frustration that could become a trigger
for protests.
اضافة اعلان
Scarcity, poverty,
and loss of access to basic necessities usually pushes people into the streets,
demanding a political solution to their hardship.
Unfortunately,
there is a belief that governments and public policies fostered the situation,
and that things will get worse, including where liberties and rights are
concerned.
The government is
promoting a long-term vision of economic reform, but for any change to succeed
in improving the situation and shifting the people’s perception of the
government, there needs to be a change in policy that has real impact, and not
just a change in rhetoric.
One of the major
issues that needs to be addressed is the political inclusion of Jordanians in
decision making, as recently many believe that the system is geared toward a
small number of people, and that it is a closed circle limited to the same
individuals. This feeling of exclusion has been growing for a while and is
fueled by a perception of nepotism, favoritism and a lack of transparency that
continues to be pervasive.
From a practical
and realistic point of view, governments’ opportunity to build credibility
seems to be scarce, but if change is a very long and complicated process, it is
important to at least start to achieve small changes, which might be the most
important and challenging part of this long journey to change.
The old style of governance, in which power is centralized and decision making is shrouded in secrecy, must be a thing of the past.
Efficient
government policies are the only way to guarantee real change in Jordan. To
achieve this, it is important to reconsider the way public policies have been
managed and executed. Transparency and accountability in decision making, and
government independence may be the way for public policies to succeed.
Continuing to delay
action is likely to have an even more negative effect. It will widen the scope
of discontent and introduce new difficulties to an already difficult scenario.
The demands will be much more difficult to address as people move from
demanding basic needs to more complex political rights.
The old style of
governance, in which power is centralized and decision making is shrouded in
secrecy, must be a thing of the past.
Serious and
concrete steps must be taken to address problems; it is one way to ensure that
people believe in governments and accept that economic difficulties and
hardships are a temporary thing they have to weather in order to succeed and
thrive as a country.
Amer Al-Sabaileh is a Jordanian university professor and
geopolitical expert. He is a leading columnist in national, regional, and
international media, offers consultancies to think tanks and speaks at
international conferences on Middle East politics and developments.
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