Jordan has been facing various external and internal challenges in
recent years. Externally, there are the ongoing crises in Syria and Iraq, and
the growing crisis in West Bank. Internally, the lack of a credible economic
plan to address the economic hardships that Jordanians have been enduring for
so many years is the most serious threat.
اضافة اعلان
The link between regional and domestic issues is
extremely important to understand the situation in Jordan. During 1987-89, the
region witnessed three major incidents: the spark of the Intifada in the West
Bank, the end of the Lebanese civil war, with the Saudis shaping the Taif
Agreement, and the end of the Iran-Iraq war. Jordan was deeply affected by
these regional issues.
Domestic challenges this time are posed by economic
issues, just like those that sparked the April 1989 uprising in Jordan. It was
an accumulation of policy mistakes and missteps that pushed latent anger and
frustration to open confrontation.
The collapse of the Jordanian dinar and the negative
economic impact fed the bitterness people felt toward the governing elite and
their policies, which included martial law. There was no incident or direct
trigger that pushed Jordanians to protest in 1989. Jordanians are not likely to
make political demands, but economic hardships push people to desperation.
Despite this, in the end, the solution was political.
Today, the situation is similar; the signs of an
economic crisis in Jordan have been apparent for a while, and yet there has
been no real effective policy to address the underlying problems.
Jordan needs to pay more attention to its internal
situation, by undertaking actions and effecting changes that could help it
tackle challenges.
New narratives, a new way of communicating and a new
style of doing politics is needed at this stage. The old rhetoric is no longer
effective. The country is facing challenges that require a change in the way of
doing politics.
… The signs of an economic crisis in Jordan have been apparent for a while, and yet there has been no real effective policy to address the underlying problems.
Effective and sustainable growth and change cannot
happen based on local resources alone. The power Jordan wields is in its
geography, but the world has changed, and Jordan must find a role to press its
advantage based on the world today and where it is heading.
Large-scale projects in transportation, agriculture
and other local industries are important to any improvement. Jordanians are
resilient and can weather economic hardships, but there must be a clear path to
success and change for them to continue. Without that, their helplessness will
put the country’s security and stability at risk.
Jordan needs to engineer an integral regional role,
and this can be achieved just by adopting a new approach to articulating
policies and positions, especially foreign policies, as the regional and
international landscape is shifting.
It is important to realize that the
government-citizen relation has been changing and people's tolerance is
diminishing. Therefore, a strong government with focus on economy, and not just
on security, is essential for the survival of a country like Jordan. Once
strong internally, it will have the capacity to play a role in the future of
the region.
The writer 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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