Popular Protest in North Africa and the Middle East (IX)
Author | : |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : 32 |
Release | : 2012 |
Genre | : Jordan |
ISBN | : |
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Something is brewing in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It is not so much that protests have been spreading since 2011; the country has experienced these before and so far they remain relatively small. It is, rather, who is behind them and from where dissatisfaction stems. East Bankers -- Jordanians who inhabited the area before the arrival of the first Palestinian refugees in 1948 -- have long formed the pillar of support for a regime that played on their fears concerning the Palestinian-origin majority. That pillar is showing cracks. The authorities retain several assets: popular anxiety about instability; U.S. and Gulf Arab political and material support; and persistent intercommunal divisions within the opposition. But in a fast-changing region, they would be reckless to assume they can avoid both far-reaching change and turmoil. Ultimately, they must either undertake the former one or experience the latter.