Introduction
This paper will seek to examine authoritarianism and democracy in Jordan. This will be achieved through first briefly examining the journey of democracy in the country. Secondly, the paper will examine the factors that have enhanced democracy in the country (Hirz, 2013). This will also be achieved through summarily looking at a recent news article.
Background Information on Democracy in Jordan
The struggle for democratization in Jordan can be backdated to the1980s. It is during this period that a number of activists came into the limelight with their various demands to have a pluralistic organized political structure which would serve as a model to the rest of the Middle East Country (Hirz, 2013). These reforms were witnessed under the reign of King Hussein who launched the parliamentary elections systems. Jordan is now categorized as a partly free state in terms of the level of democracy and has also been ranked as the third freest country in the Arab Nation (Hirz, 2013).
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The reforms brought about by the then sovereign, King Hussein, have now seen to it that Jordan is now being praised as one of the few Arab nations exercising democracy in its totality. A number of political reforms have been introduced in the country as a means of enhancing transparency and accountability (Hirz, 2013). Some of the notable reforms witnessed include the enacting of decentralization laws, strengthening of the election laws, enacting laws that promote multi-party democracy and the establishment of a strategy to fight corruption. The doctrine of universal suffrage has also been upheld in the country allowing all persons of legal age to exercise their democratic right of voting including women, something not akin to the Arab world.
As a result of some of these reforms, the 2016 general elections held in the country was given a clean bill of health (Hirz, 2013). These, however, came amidst a number of legal challenges ranging from the electoral process itself to the formation of political parties.
Connection with the weekly concepts
Democracy in the country can be attributed to a number of factors. The first one would be the cultural perspective. Being a Muslim state, Jordan has had a number of milestone reforms that have overshadowed the Arab civilization conventions that are particularly anti-democratic in nature. Women in most Arab countries are not allowed to vote; however, this is not the case in Jordan. The country’s unique cultural perspective of everyone being equal before the law has thus played a crucial role in promoting democracy (Hirz, 2013). The approach adopted by the country is one that seeks to prioritize the country’s self-interest rather than a pan- Arab or pro-West approach adopted by most of the Middle East States.
The second factor would be as a result of the development perspective. The creation of the National Integrity strategy plays a central role in promoting development in the country. This strategy has ensured transparency and accountability among the elected leaders and as a spill-over effect; development in the different economic sectors has been experienced. A report issued by Transparency International in 2014 ranked Jordan number 55 out of 175 in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI), with 175 being the most corrupt (Hirz, 2013).
The third factor that can be attributed to democracy in the country is the respect of freedom of speech. Civil societies in the country have been able to perform their duties without any fear as a result of this right being guaranteed to them. One of the main roles played by civil societies is to protect the power and autonomy of the people and protecting them from the arbitral powers of the government. The autonomy and power of the people is a pre-condition for democracy (Hirz, 2013). Closely linked to this freedom of speech is the freedom of the media that the country is taunted as being one of the best countries in the world to protect. The media acts as a human rights watchdog where their independence and neutrality in reporting is guaranteed. A 2016 Press freedom index indicated that Jordan had a score of 44 on a scale of 0 to 105 with 0 being the freest (Hirz, 2013).
The other factor that has had a role to play in the international relations of the country. Over the recent years, Jordan has had solid relations with super-powers such as the United States of America which has helped it grow in terms of democracy. The country has also acted neutrally during the two gulf wars which have helped it balance between regional interests and international relations. Such international relations promote democracy in various ways.
Summary of news article
Jordan recently held elections which were a countrywide municipal vote election. The aim of this election was to establish decentralization of power. The election was meant to enhance democracy through bringing wider grass-roots democracy (Hirz, 2013). The essence of decentralization of power was to devolve power to the larger cities and the under-developed rural regions. The elections were termed as being the most credible, free and fair elections that the country has ever held.
Comparison
One of the factors that undermine democracy is the lack of well-established relevant institutions. With an institution that carries out credible elections, democracy is almost certainly guaranteed as was the case in Jordan with their electoral body conducting free and fair elections.
In addition, political reforms are also necessary on the part of the government as a means of enhancing democracy (Hirz, 2013). In this case, the government introduced reforms to ensure that there is devolving of power to the grass root level. This ensures that democracy is exercised at all levels by all locals. Furthermore, this also ensures that there is development in terms of infrastructure and the economy which all play a role in promoting democracy (Hirz, 2013).
Conclusion
Jordan, as an Arab Nation, has defied many odds in promoting democracy in the country. The numerous political reforms introduced in the 1980’s formed the roots on which democracy has now blossomed. The country is, however, not yet fully there since it is still considered as a partly free state. This means that more reforms and practices ought to be adopted as a means of fully embracing democracy.
References
Hirz, M. (2013). Democracy in Jordan . Berlin: Springer.
