Of Empires and Citizens: Pro-American Democracy or No Democracy at All? by Amaney A. Jamal

Author:Amaney A. Jamal [Jamal, Amaney A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Democracy, Political Ideologies, Comparative Politics, Middle Eastern, Political Science, World
ISBN: 9780691149646
Google: 4vDNswEACAAJ
Goodreads: 14891837
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2012-01-15T11:44:58+00:00

EXPLORING ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS

While it may be tempting to attribute the sources of variation that emerge between Jordanian and Kuwaiti patterns of political engagement solely to the Palestinian-Jordanian cleavage in Jordan, both my qualitative and quantitative data show that this is not the case. The Palestinian-Jordanian cleavage was not significant in any of the quantitative models that we will examine in chapter 5. Further, in the qualitative evidence, Palestinians, especially those who constitute the middle class, are as likely to be supportive of the regime as their Jordanian counterparts. In fact, it is the business class that is invested in stronger ties to the United States, the global community, and by default the peace treaty with Israel. As Laurie Brand says, “Certainly the business community (both Palestinian and Transjordanian) has been one of the most enthusiastic backers of the [peace] process; supporters of the peace process hope that it will result in greater foreign investment in Jordan.”8 King Abdullah continues to arduously work to remove the parameters of the traditional cleavage. First, his marrying Queen Rania, a Palestinian, has been a huge victory for Palestinians in Jordan who absolutely adore the queen. Further, some of Abdullah’s most respected and trusted advisors are Palestinian. For example, in 2007, Farouk Kasrawi and Bassem Awadallah, prominent Palestinians, had the king’s ear on decisive economic and political matters. King Abdullah continues to augment a unified Jordanian identity crucial for its progress toward its development trajectory. Many Palestinians are lending support to Abdullah’s messages and goals as well. New economic realities guided by globalization have transcended the traditional Palestinian-Jordanian divide.

A second explanation would have it that Kuwaitis are more critical of their regime because they can “afford” to be more critical. After all, their country is an oil-rich state that will be well off regardless of any new leadership. Although this logic seems plausible, it certainly does not appear to carry water. First, this line of logic directly contradicts rentier formulations. Citizens in resource-rich states shouldn’t be contesting regime authority. Second— and more important— if this logic were correct, we would expect to see active democratic contestation in all resource-rich countries, where citizens could “afford” to depose the existing rule. I maintain that citizens are cognizant of the fact that resources alone can’t provide wealth and comfort; in the end, these resources need to be exported to the international community. International boycotts and sanctions can render the richest oil states obsolete. Witness Iraq under Saddam. Resources alone are not sufficient to protect a country economically if the wrong leadership emerges and/or remains in power. Thus, citizens of resource-rich states are not equally enthusiastic about democracy. For example, Saudis are much more reluctant about democracy than are their Kuwaiti counterparts, given the dynamics of Islamic opposition in that country. In fact, oil-rich states rely on access to foreign markets, and such reliance keeps these states vulnerable to international pressures.

A third explanation would postulate that fear of regime change in Jordan is driven by Islamist support for Shari‘a rather than Islamist levels of anti-Americanism.

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