Daily Alert Archives

Jordan Starts to Shake

(New York Review of Books) Nicolas Pelham - Under Abdullah's father, King Hussein, the alliance between the monarch and his East Bank tribesmen was so sacrosanct that Jordan was often called the Bedouin Kingdom. King Abdullah has had much less time for the tribes. While the lot of Jordanians of Palestinian origin has improved, that of Jordan's indigenous East Bankers has slumped. In the past the Hashemites bought their East Bankers' acquiescence by doling out titles and stipends in the security forces and political establishment. Thanks to flagrant gerrymandering, East Bankers received 85% of the parliamentary seats in the elections a year ago, and were awarded 22 of the 28 posts in the last government.
2011-11-23 00:00:00
Full Article