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Overview
Jordan is located in the Middle East and borders Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and West Bank. Its location has made it significant in the historic fight over what Christians, Jews, and Muslims know as the “Holy Land,” and it is one of only two Arab countries to have signed peace treaties with Israel. Jordan has also lent the U.S. political and military support in the war in Iraq. In November 2005, 56 people were killed when suicide bombers attacked three hotels in Jordan’s capital, Amman; Al-Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility for the killings. As of 2005, Jordan’s GDP per capita was estimated at $4,700, and it has a population of nearly 6 million. Descendents of Palestinian refugees from Israel and West Bank outnumber the “original” Jordanians. 92% of the population is Sunni Muslim. Greek Orthodoxy and other Christian religions make up another 6%, with 2% consisting of small Shi’a Muslim and Druze populations.
Social Indicators
Jordan’s young population and high population growth rate of 2.49% resulted in a rating of 6.0 for demographic pressures in the Failed States Index 2006 (FSI 2006). The 6.8 rating for refugees and displaced persons is a result of the turmoil in Iraq, which caused an increase in the number of refugees fleeing to Jordan. While the large majority of refugees in Jordan are Iraqi, there are smaller groups from Sudan, Syria, Egypt, and Russia as well. 168,000 internally displaced persons from the 1967 Arab-Israeli war are also still present in the country. Jordan received a rating of 6.0 for group grievances in the FSI 2006 because, although the law fundamentally provides for equality between groups, people of Palestinian origin have historically been discriminated against. Although freedom of religion is one of the tenets of the state, not all Christian denominations are legally recognized. Non-Muslims have reported that they face legal and social discrimination, and laws against conversion to non-Muslim faiths are strictly enforced. In addition, human rights activists have charged that the government discriminates against citizens of Palestinian origin in the application of citizenship laws as well as through the electoral districting system. Iraqis, too, have recently claimed that they face prejudice, especially since the November 2005 terrorist attacks. Human flight received a fairly low rating of 5.0 due to the low number of Jordanians leaving the country to find work elsewhere.
Economic Indicators
Jordan’s major problems lie in economic development. Former monarch King Hussein’s death in 1999 left the country economically unstable, and it has been difficult for his son, King Abdullah, to institute reforms. His “National Agenda,” a plan for political, economic and social change over a period of ten years, has yet to be implemented. Jordan has no oil of its own, and its economy depends upon services, tourism, and foreign aid (mainly from the U.S.). The country has a large budget deficit and an unemployment rate as high as 30%. It also has a high level of inequality, which accounted for the rating of 7.6 for uneven development in the FSI 2006.
Political/Military Indicators
Corruption in the executive and legislative branches of the Jordanian government was common, resulting in a rating of 6.8 for state legitimacy in the FSI 2006. The government has been rife with influence peddling and the advancement of personal business interests by illegal means. When the poet Haider Mahmoud wrote a poem to the king warning him of the corruption surrounding him, the press assailed Mahmoud and the prime minister called for him to be fired from his job. However, in June the king instructed that a law be drafted to make government records accessible to the public, and this law has been enforced in practice.
Jordan has a fairly good health system and thus received a rating of 5.8 for the public services category. Human rights present a somewhat greater problem and were rated 6.1. Although in 2003 the government repealed legislation that sentenced to jail anyone who harmed the king’s reputation by, for example, inciting strikes or holding “illegal” gatherings, there are still human rights issues. The media is still mainly under government control. For example, journalists are often harassed and threatened with detention to induce self-censorship. After the terrorist attacks in 2005, the government pledged to increase civilian security while respecting human rights; however, while civilian authorities generally maintained control over their security forces, there were instances in which these forces committed serious violations. These crimes included the torture of detainees to induce confessions, the mistreatment of individuals held in custody by police, and arbitrary and unlawful arrests. Violence against women is a widespread problem.
The security apparatus received a rating of 6.8 due to the presence of a paramilitary force that bypasses the normal chain of command in the armed forces and reports directly to the king. Jordan scored a 6.6 for factionalized elites in the FSI 2006 due to pressure from Palestinian factions to become involved in securing the West Bank territory. Jordan’s location in the middle of the Arab-Israeli conflict, economic reliance upon other countries’ exports and grants, involvement in the Iraq conflict, and aid received from groups like the International Committee for the Red Cross and United Nations agencies all resulted in a score of 7.0 for external political influences.
Core Five State Institutions
| Leadership | Military | Police | Judiciary | Civil Service |  | | |  | | | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Good | Good | Jordan is a constitutional monarchy led by King Abdallah II, who ascended to the throne in 1999 and has since consolidated his power and attempted to institute economic reforms. In April 2005 a new cabinet was sworn in after the former one resigned due to the king’s dissatisfaction with the pace of its reforms. Widespread corruption plagues the executive and legislative branches of the government.
Jordan has been a key U.S. ally in the war on terror, but its dedication to this prolonged cause has led to the inevitable weakening of its military as soldiers die and resources dwindle.
Citizens may file complaints of police abuse, and these complaints are usually investigated; 425 were submitted in 2005. Corruption does not present much of a problem to the police force; officers are specially trained to avoid it. The main problem with Jordan’s police force is its habit of detaining people arbitrarily without formal charges and denying them certain rights, such as the right to a lawyer.
The judicial system consists of civil, criminal, commercial, security, and religious courts. The religious courts include both Shari’a courts and tribunals for non-Muslim religious communities. In general, the system is free from corruption, although family and tribal factors may influence the judges at times.
The civil service is generally effective and the government works to ensure the comfort and security of its members.
Prognosis
Although Jordan is having difficulty in the area of economic development, its general lack of internal violence and the justness of its legal system relative to other Middle Eastern countries give it a solid possibility of improvement. The government is working to build its health and pharmaceutical industries in order to further economic development, and leaders have been working tirelessly to secure new investors. King Abdullah has taken the appropriate preliminary steps for economic reform by joining the World Trade Organization in 2000 and beginning participation in the European Free Trade Association in 2001, and if he is able to speed up the pace of his plans, Jordan may well be able to conquer its economic difficulties.
Copyright (C) 2006 The Fund for Peace
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