Institutions And The Politics Of Survival In Jordan
Subtitle: Domestic Responses To External Challenges, 1988-2001
Series: S U N Y Series in Middle Eastern Studies
Publisher: State University of New York Press; State University of New York; University Presses Marketing [distributor]
Published: June 30, 2005
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 185
ISBN-13: 9780791464458
Subjects: POLITICS & GOVERNMENT; Politics/International Relations; Middle East - General; History - General History; Political Science; Politics and government; Jordan; Political History; International Relations - General; 1999-; Structural adjustment (Economic policy); 1952-1999; Political culture
First sentence: The monarchs of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan have endured in the face of economic crisis and regional political instability by following the spirit of Caliph Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufiyan's strategy.
Description: "Weaving together accounts of historical developments, cultural elements, economic factors, and regional and international dynamics, Russell E. Lucas explores how the monarchy in Jordan survived economic crisis and regional political instability during the 1990s. Lucas analyzes the factors behind the successful liberalization and deliberalization of laws regulating political parties, the parliament, and the press that helped preserve the monarchy. These institutional survival strategies co-opted the opposition, kept it divided, and reinforced the unity of the regime's coalition of supporters.

The author also compares survival strategies in Jordan with those of Morocco, Kuwait, Iran, and Egypt to explain the surprising durability of authoritarian regimes in the Middle East."--Jacket.