I think all of you who follow political debates have read or heared about the Article written by the American writer Borzou Daragahi from LA Times claiming that the monarchy in Jordan is risking a fate similar to the Iranian Shah. Jammed has already posted the whole article but in case the link is lost here is the LA times link http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-jordan1oct01,1,4432688... [read more]

Another package of economic aid has reached Jordan from the USA. This time it was a total of 25.0 M US $ from the Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC) that was released a few days ago. A press statement said that MCC's Board of Directors approved up to $25 million in Threshold Program assistance for Jordan. The program aims to strengthen democratic institutions by supporting Jordan's efforts to... [read more]

I have always considered myself to be a "liberal democrat" where I strongly believe in the values of "political liberalism" including freedoms, human rights, civil society, the rule of law and all kinds of equality. I have also embraced the values of "secular humanism" as I have explained in one of my posts in this blog. Two things have always made me restless regarding political liberalism. The... [read more]

The highly-promoted "We are all Jordan" forum has ended yesterday with the declaration of a 30 page action plan filled with promises on political reforms and other issues of priority in Jordan. I will post some detailed articles about specific recommendations of the forum but would like to address the issue of how this forum was managed and what are the critical factors that make people very skeptical... [read more]

In this analytical essay published by the Carnige Arab Reform Bulletin (July 2006) Dr Fares Braizat (Researcher and polling expert at the Center for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan) provides an assessment of the factors hindering political reform in Jordan.   In the essay Dr Braizat's arguments can be summarised as follows: 1- Despite the continuous demands from the King and... [read more]

In my capacity as a writer and journalist, I was invited to participate in the "We are all Jordan" forum along with other 699 people in the gathering that took place yesterday along the Dead Sea coast. The Forum had a major objective, stated by the King in his opening remarks which is to "prioritize" the main challenges and political and socio-economic priorities facing Jordan and having a national... [read more]

All countries in the world are aiming to evolve into "knowledge societies" to be able to gain the benefits of the global economic and development trends. In Jordan our case is different since we already have an "established and rooted" knowledge society which is the biggest obstacle against reform! To answer this puzzle I have to mention that Knwoledge society in Jordan is not what we bacame to... [read more]

One of the most useful elements of the public poll conducted by the Center of Strategic Studies (CSS) in the University of Jordan and released yesterday is the section where the national sample (Jordanian citizens) and public opinion leaders' sample respond to the question of listing their priorities taht the government should tackle. It comes as a strong message that the priorities of Jordanians... [read more]

    A collective Jordanian feeling of anger and national patriotism has been gathering momentum recently in response to the remarks of the Syrian president Bashar Al-Asad in which he has mocked the "Jordan First" logo in his opening speech at the pan-Arab Political parties meeting in Damascus last week. The public campaign of anger has been reflected in the form of many articles in Jordanian... [read more]

  After the black comedy of the Parliament's vote on the public budget last week, I have to admit that I am ashamed, as a Jordanian citizen and voter, of the low professional quality of the Parliamentarian process and of course, the shallowness of the majority of its members. The debate for the public budget started with encouraging signs in the initial phases, but then dropped to a horrendous... [read more]

If I had to choose the best slogan of 2005 it should be this drawing by Imad Hajjaj following the 9/11 bombings in Amman. This drawing has been widely used in Jordan and was facilitating a new process of developing a collective ownership of the unity in Jordan. The drawing sends a direct message of unity, strength and resilience, which were the direct outcomes of the terrorism attacks. This has... [read more]