Der Demokratisierungsprozess in Jordanien : Stand und Perspektive

Not unlike most other developing countries, Jordan has a legacy of structural problems that impede development and democratisation. Jordan, as an artificially constructed state, has alway had to rely on assistance from outside. This has created an inability for the state to decide independently. Under Abdallah I, in 1928, the first democratic institution was established. The late King Hussein built on this tradition, using the tribal leaders as links between the monarch and the notables. Hussein sought security in foreign relations to keep his country stable and his family in power. On the home front, Hussein strove to achieve some kind of balance between the different groups, while at the same time trying to further economic and social development. This development being possible only through relying on foreign aid, Jordan in the course of time slowly distanced herself from Iraq, edging closer to the USA. In spite of many problems it is true that Jordan under Hussein saw development on several levels: nation-building, education, the infrastructure, agriculture, health and urbanisation. Over the years, Jordan went through several difficult periods: 1. In 1957, martial law is declared after an attempted coup, it remains in force until 1992. 2. On several occasions the constitution is suspended. Elections are postponed or, if held at all, they are rigged. 3. 1989 sees the lowest point with regard to Jordan’s economic situation. Problems for the national currency, rising prices, increased unemployment, economic policies mismanaged by both government and opposition, all this produced huge social and economic difficulties for the Jordanian people. These problems caused the unrest of April 1989, which in turn brought the polical elite led by King Hussein to seriously start a process of democratisation. The author outlines several aspects indicating that Jordan is engaged in a process of democratisation. This intention was stressed both by the late King Hussein and his successor, King Abdallah II. These indications are: 1. Jordan is a parliamentary monarchy as set out in the 1952 constitution of King Tal. This constitution, while ensuring absolute power to the monarch and allowing little scope for democracy, also offers certain essential democratic elements. Any democratic elements existing will have to be supported to allow the country to further develop its democracy. 2. The National Charter incorporates principles and regulations that can provide a roadmap for the creation of a new Jordan based on principles of due legal process and popular participation. This Charter however only provides general indications and is not legally binding. 3. Almost none of the political parties existing has managed to make good use of the new openness in order to push their political programmes in Parliament.4. The opposition groups are also weakened by the fact that they represent different ideological tendencies. They fail to be sufficiently active in the struggle for democracy. Jordanians saw their faith in the political opposition even further eroded when some opposition members of Parliament joined the government. Thus the trade unions had to act as a mouthpiece of what should have been done by the opposition. A thorough analysis of the results of his empirical data lead the author to draw the following conclusions: 1. There is in the Jordanian people an increased understanding of the country’s political opening and democratic ways. 2. The people of Jordan expect a strengthened democracy to ensure the improvement of their lives. 3. The general view held by a majority is that democracy did not occur because the political elite favoured it but as a result of pressure from below. Still it is accepted that without the King‘s support no progress would have been possible. 4. The general view is that education and the individual family are the main agents for strengthening democracy in Jordanian society, followed by activities instituted by the parliament, political parties and the trade unions. 5. There is a greater understanding of political openness and democracy among better educated academics. 6. The analysis also shows there is no discernible difference between attitudes held by people of different income brackets, ages and sex. 7. An important finding of the study is that there is a wide divide between verbal pronouncements in favour of democracy and practical action that might further democracy. The general resume of this thesis is that Jordan is seen by Jordanians as being definitely on the road to democratic rights. Approval of this, however, is on the decrease, early enthusiasm is waning. This does not however mean that the process of of democratisation has not taken certain roots in Jordanian society: The author sees a slow mental process towards the establishment of real democracy that still lies ahead of the people and the political elite of Jordan.

Grantor dc:publisher

Publikationsserver der RWTH Aachen University

Year dc:date

2002

Author dc:creator

• Mohsen, Khaled

Contributors dc:contributor

• Böttcher, Winfried

• info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/320
• Politik
• Jordanien
• Demokratisierung
• Bevölkerung
• Einstellung

Statement dc:rights

• info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Language dc:language

ger

Identifier

https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/search?p=id:%22RWTH-CONV-119204%22

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:publications.rwth-aachen.de:57136