Deterioration in standard of living with economic

Deterioration in standard of living with economic corruption brought leftists
and Islamists to protest in 2011
o National Front for Reform, March 24 Movement, and the Jordanian
Campaign for Change  new PM Nsour in 2012, but still protests
o 2013 parliamentary elections finally held but with low turnout
 Jordan clamps down on MB due to fears of jihadists abroad
Political Economy
 Jordan is Rentier economy: ha taken budgetary support, aid for military,
grants or concessionary loans for development projects, payments from
UNRWA, royalties for pipeline passage, payment for overland transport, and
remittances.
o British control, WWII, Cold War (US)
 Attempts at independence halted after losing 40% GDP from 1967 war
 Fight with the PLO in 1970  lose support from Arab states, but 1974
acceptance of PLO’s role brought back investment
 Oil boom brings in much support from Arab states  stability  investment
 Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel  more money for Jordan and Syria, but other
regional issues (Iran-Iraq war) cut them back
 Hussein was bad at economy, so there was much debt partially due to Arab
states not going through with their promises.
o Also the loss of West Bank following Hussein’s renunciation of claims
in 1988 did not help
o IMF agreements forced Jordan to reduce state spending on food,
energy, increased taxes and cuts in domestic and foreign borrowing
 Iraq invasion of Kuwait was also bad because Iraq was Jordan’s primary
trading partner
 Has been able to get a lot of aid since then, despite its relationship with Iraq
o Coincides well with Abdallah’s globalization measures
 Growth has been uneven, many new refugees from Syria
Regional and International Relations
 Originally tensions between Egypt and Jordan (partially over annexation of
West Bank)
o Changed after Abdallah’s assassination and overthrow of the Egyptian
monarchy
o Nasser pressured Hussein into renouncing Jordan’s mutual defense
pact with Britain and expelling John Glubb
 Egypt wins Suez crisis and formation of UAR both chip away at Jordan’s
legitimacy in Arab world
 PLO dragged Jordan into the conflict with Israel, so Hussein signed mutual
defense pact in Cairo days before 1967 war with Israel
o Terrible military defeat

 Soon after guerrilla organizations began carrying out attacks on Israel and
the battered Jordanian forces couldn’t do much about it
 Clashes between Fatah, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and
Jordan forces  black September
 Jordan still wants West bank but has to give up hope eventually and accepts
PLO as representative of Palestine
 Syria increases ties with Jordan after Egypt moves to reopen Suez (probably
with Israeli peace)
o Camp david accords go down without Jordan involved because they
would not have gotten much of West Bank
 Jordan sides with Iraq during its fight with Iran because Iran’s leader
Khomeni might export Islamist revolution
 Tensions with the PLO over the determination of West Bank
 June 1988 summit in Algiers decided not to renew financial support for the