Political Development in the Aftermath of Democracy in Jordan

Abstract

This study sheds light on the subject of political development which has come to the attention of Jordan's political leadership during the past decade or so. It also, attempts to probe into the capability of the official Jordanian political insititutions such as the parliament, and the civil society associations such as the political parties and professional associations; and investigates obstacles facing these institutions; and to reflect the impacts of political culture on such development. This study has also been carried out on the basis of the hypothesis which states that the role which the parliament and the civil societies play into political development is still quite weak and ineffective. In addition, traditional political culture and social heritage, and some legislations and laws still pose serious obstacles to the political development in Jordan. To test the validity or invalidity of such hypothesis, the descriptive approach has been adopted. The results of the study confirmed the hypothesis being proposed. They also showed that the process of democratic reform and political development since the early 1990s has not been up to the expectations, and that the objective environment needed for such a process has not been available. The study ascribes the shortcomings of the democratic reform and political development process in Jordan to a number of obstacles, including weak civil society associations and parliament, the presence of some inconvenient laws, and the dominance of traditional culture in society. In light of the results, the study provides a number of recommendations that may enhance the process of politivcal development, the most important of which are constitutional and legal reforms to strengthen the role of civil associations, especially political parties and professional associations, the limitation of the executive branch encrochement upon them; and the adoption of a civil and democratic political culture which insures an active role of such institutions and associations in the process of political development.