Marwan Mouasher writing about the National Agenda

I am enjoying reading the fascinating book written by Jordan's former Minister of Foreign Affairs and deputy Prime Minister for reform Dr Marwan Mouasher entitled "The Arab Center: the Promise of Moderation". Although the main theme of this book is a sound description of the justification and potential of Arab moderation with a documented history of the betrayal of the Arab moderation vision by various US administrations, one of the most interesting sections of the book was the one describing the author's experience as the coordinator of the most optimistic reform planning process in Jordan: The National Agenda, that was vigorously faught by the old guard of politicians. Following are excerpts from the section describing the "progress" towards developing the National Agenda as I think this is worth documenting for all:

"The King appointed an inclusive Royal Committee, headed by myself which comprised people across the spectrum of political, social and economic forces in the country. He did not interfere in the work of the committee and asked only that its recommendations be submitted to him at the end of the process. This process, though came under attack as soon as the committee was formed. Criticism came from two different circles. One group, referred to as the "old guard" began to cast doubt on the agenda before the document was even written. The old guard is mainly a collection of individuals associated with the public sector who understood too well that reform ultimately would entail a complete revision of Jordanian political culture, one that would become merit-based rather than one that often gave privileges such as jobs and education to an elite few. That circle of opposition also included personalities who had dominated Jordanian politics for so long that they fundamentally believed that politics was too serious an affair to be administered by the public. They regarded themselves as the true "guardians of the state" and opposed any widening of the decision-making process. The old guard was joined by a handful of businessmen who have accrued both wealth and power thanks to their close alliance with the state."

"The old guard found its own label for those steering the reform effort, decrying them as "neoliberals" who were implementing an American Agenda against the Jordanian state. They depicted a merit-based system as something that would lead to the state's disintegration rather than its reinforcement, as something that would supplant the constitution rather than would uphold it".

" The group was able to mobilize part of the media to their side. A well organized campaign against the effort was waged in some newspapers. The campaign was extremely vicious and personal, stopping just short of declaring that certain members of the committee were traitors. And worse still, it was successful: the public cast doubt on an effort meants to improve the quality of life across the board even before the ink on the National Agenda was dry."

" No countervailing force existed to match the influence of the traditional elite. Prominent liberal individuals, though outspoken were neither united nor organized and could not effectively argue their case collectively to the public".

" In any case, the squabbling among the pro- and antireform elites was of little or no interest to the public, which had come to doubt the state's political will to follow through on reform. Over the years programmes for reform had been adopted and abandoned enough times to create doubt and apathy towards new promises".

"Reform does not happen because the leadership of a country wishes it. Complex factors, including an entrenched establishment and bureaucracy whose interest make it highly resistant to any reform process, are involved. Unless the many factors are understood and addressed in a systematic and sustained manner, democracy and reform in the region will remain elusive".

I can't agree more!