Policy Analysis

Jordanians expressed their views on Israel, domestic challenges, and the United States in a recent Washington Institute poll.

In the midst of ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which partially stems from competition for energy sources, the role of energy transportation lines like pipelines in regional geopolitics can be a double-edged sword. While often a source of conflict and disagreement, the role of pipelines in the region appears

The Jordanian “street” is now relatively content with its government’s posture, in spite—or indeed precisely because—of all the turbulence surrounding it.

Despite the international praise Jordan has received for the measures it introduced to combat the spread of coronavirus, the country’s policy makers remain deeply worried about the likely dire economic fallout from the pandemic. In this context, the Israeli announcement that it plans to proceed with unilateral annexation of large

As the Coronavirus pandemic is globalized, many states are facing similar challenges and choices in how to respond, with three major options: surrender and death, struggle and life, and prioritization of the economy in lieu of public health. These difficult choices are playing out in each state and the outcomes

When Jordan traced its first case of coronavirus to an individual who had traveled to Italy on March 2, the response was swift. March air raid sirens, which called for a full curfew and social distancing, the likes of which the nation had not witnessed since September 1971. The semi-rentier

On January 29, the Trump administration unveiled the political aspect of the long-awaited ‘Deal of the Century.’ This announcement came six months after the Manama workshop in Bahrain, which focused on the Plan’s economic vision, including proposals for investment and infrastructure projects in Palestine worth around $50 billion. The newly

The government of Jordan has been adept at balancing domestic demands and international pressures in order to remain a moderate force in the Middle East, and will need to continue to take steps to ensure this delicate balance. Right now, despite continued popular concern over economic hardships, the main Muslim

Due to external pressures and internal fissures, the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood (MB) today is experiencing its worst days since its establishment in 1946. This decline follows the challenges of the broader Muslim Brotherhood organization, which is facing an “internal crisis” after losing much of their momentum after the Arab Spring

A detailed public opinion poll from last month shows that most West Bank and Gaza Palestinians approve of Jordan’s King Abdullah, look to his country for help, and want it to play a major role in their future–though just a small minority favor a future confederation with Jordan. On other

Interest in the issue of terrorist repatriation has returned to the forefront of media coverage in recent weeks, especially after Iraq tried and sentenced to death eleven French nationals who had joined ISIS, causing an eruption of angry official and popular reactions in France. The legal challenges of repatriation and

Jordan was the first stop on U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s Mideast diplomatic tour last month, and it joined the American-led Warsaw conference on Mideast security last week. On both occasions, Jordanian and American officials publicly hailed their common stand against terrorism and against Iran’s interventions in the region

In mid-December 2016, a terrorist cell carried out an operation in southern Jordan that began in the desert town of Qatraneh and culminated at the historic site of the Kerak Castle. The attack left four terrorists, four police personnel, three gendarmes, two civilians, and one Canadian tourist dead and dozens

Of all the bilateral ties between Arab states, the Jordanian-Syrian relationship has been among the most intense. Various gradations of reciprocal unfriendliness and even open animosity have characterized the two countries’ ties since the 1970s, reflecting the rise of the Ba’ath party and Hafez al-Assad. However, recent economic instabilities pushed

Despite recent tensions between Jordan and other stakeholders in the Middle East, shifting dynamics across the region have recently led to the formation of a tentative U.S.-backed cooperation between Israel and such Sunni Arab states as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and the Hashemite Kingdom. While this rapprochement

Today, Jordan’s government is facing backlash after a long period of corruption labeled a “deep state” system. Citizens are organizing demonstrations rejecting federal decisions to increase taxes and impose further strict rules on the people that would negatively affect their livelihoods. Recently, some political figures have used the term "deep

Next week, President Rouhani of Iran will visit China for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, on the margins of a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Two weeks ago, coincidentally, I spoke in Shanghai at a mid-sized meeting billed as “the first conference on Syria ever held in

Jordan’s King Abdullah II came to power in February 1999 in the aftermath of King Hussein. For the past nineteen years of his rule, he has kept the kingdom stable, despite the hardships and challenges that the whole Middle East region is undergoing, ranging from radicalism to terrorism. He has

1- How Should the New U.S. President Play the "Kurdish Card" in the Middle East? Frzand Sherko - January 10, 2017 Kurdish researcher Frzand Sherko argues that while the next U.S. administration may no longer want to play a direct role in the Middle East, they can still leverage the

The strategic interests of Jordan and Israel overlap to a remarkable, multilayered fashion. Both countries have shared the unenviable position of being primary targets of Arab, Islamist, and other radicals since their respective founding in 1946 and 1948. Yet their common challenges have not obviated real and recurring divergences of