Economic Crisis and Post-Rentier Democratization in the Arab World: The Case of Jordan

Abstract

The article argues that in many Arab countries the political economy of regional petroleum wealth has served to inhibit democratization. In the particular case of Jordan, petrodollar foreign aid and workers' remittances long served as a critical aspect of political stability, supporting regime neo-patrimonialism and blunting pressures for greater participation. Equally, the decline of those revenues in the late 1980s spurred the eventual collapse of the foundations upon which the old economic and political order had been built. With this came the need to negotiate a new social contract, resulting in a far-reaching process of political liberalization and partial democratization after April 1989.

Jordan and the ‘Arab Spring’: No Challenge, No Change?

“…Yet, in the present case the analysis cannot be confined to the domestic level of state-society relations since the Jordanian state has been receiving substantial political rents ever since King Abdullah I ascended the throne in 1921. 48 Moreover, the Arab Spring has been a regional phenomenon. Therefore, besides the image of domestic politics, both the regional and the international level have to be taken into consideration.…”

“…Rather, divide et impera policies, the promotion of clientelist networks, and the systemic privileging of 'traditional,' informal groups over class-based associations, all of which are typical features of patrimonial rules-be they embedded in a monarchical or a republican system-are decisive. 54 The Jordanian regime established a system that is capable of channeling political dissatisfaction toward the formal political system without touching its fundaments. Political institutions such as the parliament and the government, including the prime minister, may be-and very often are-criticized openly.…”

Civil Society and International Governance

“…Others hold that nation-building projects have failed and that loyalties are mainly sub-national and horizontal, preventing national democracy from taking root; the state as such is imposed by external actors and is thus floating, void of meaningful relations to its citizens (Alavi 1979). The existence of 'rentier economies' (Luciani 1990;Brynen 1992) and the weak taxation system are other factors, as is the fluid class structure and interdependence between the enlarged intermediate strata in the form of state bureaucracy and the regimes (Ayubi 1995). Lastly, conflicts and wars have paved the way for militarized states to legitimize themselves through 'missions', such as the struggle against imperialism, for Arab unity, and for the liberation of Palestine, rather than through rule by the people.…”

Assessment of Correspondent Banks Case Study

“…However, Jordan is a country with high level of political stability and with high caliber of its human recourses; Jordanians are talented, knowledgeable and innovative (Brynen, 1992). Jordan has rationally succeeded in establishing well organized financial markets; it has exported this knowledge to many of its neighboring Gulf States like U.A.E., Oman and Qatar.…”