Author: Marie Meslin
Novemebr 2005

People and Power: KING ABDULLAH the II
of the HASHEMITE KINGDOM of JORDAN.

Introduction

The Middle East has been a major focus of international politics in the past decade, with ample international media coverage that has only increased over the past few years. Articles and reports about the Israel-Palestinian conflict, the war in Iraq, and recent Lebanese demands that Syrian retreat form the area occur daily. Located in the northwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, Jordan is bound by Syria in the north, Saudi Arabia on the south-east, Iraq on the east, and the Occupied West Bank and Israel in the west. Some refer to it as being in the “eye of the Middle East storm” . Established for around 60 years this small kingdom, although never itself the main focus of the news has been central to the regions’ politics and as a middleman between the US, Europe and its Arab neighbors. Indeed due to its geographical and stable position, Jordan is a key ally for western powers in all of the conflicts mentioned above, with its leadership regarded as one of the strongest allies of Britain and the United States . Jordan is also one of only two Arab states that have peace treaties with Israel, and has long been an important link in the Middle East peace process as well as a platform for U.S. covert and military activities .

After 46 years on the throne, King Hussein, the longest serving executive head of state in the world, died and controversially left his son Abdullah to replace him . A difficult task considering the changes Jordan was in the midst of undertaking, with growing modernization and democratization plans. Jordan is slowly moving out of a monarchy system where the king has total power and the evening news comes complete with praise-songs for him. It is an old-fashioned system, now headed by Abdullah the 2nd, a young and thoroughly modern 43-year-old king ,

Why Abdullah?

Jordan has long served as a pivot between moderate pro-Western and radical anti-American states in the Middle East. Its king, Abdullah, has only been in power for 6 years and has had to deal in this short space of time with the rise of the Second Intifada, war in Iraq, Iranian’s nuclear capabilities and souring relations between Lebanon and Syria as well as its own domestic issues of unemployment, corruption, economic crisis and budding democratization process. Abdullah’s position has been a difficult one, with regional politics, family issues, his father’s legacy and his own education and marriage shaping his outlook on what needs to be done to keep the momentous of Jordan’s modernization going and most importantly, stable. The so-called “honeymoon period” that lingered for a few years after his extremely popular father died and left him the throne is now gone, and a policy of "continuity" of his father's policies no longer suffices. His major test is now to be able to discern when to apply his father's answers and when to provide his own.

Another reason for choosing Abdullah is the fact that he is a king. The very fact that he inherited this position and the way he inherited it (and has not formed his life and career in order to achieve this goal) is of interest. Indeed, his inheritance of the throne was not always certain; the chain of events that triggered his eventual succession to King Hussein was itself controversial: Abdullah wasn’t supposed to be Crown Prince, as the position had been held for 35 years by Prince Hassan, Abdullah’s uncle.

The Succession:

It is important for understand King Abdullah’s ruling style to look at his accession to the throne. Abdullah’s appointment by his father as heir to the throne came on January 24th, only 10 days before Hussein passed away of cancer after a long battle with the illness. Abdullah would replace Hussein's own brother Hassan. On February 7, 1999 Abdullah became king. This last minute change of successor was somewhat controversial: Queen Zein al-Sharaf, mother of king Hussein and a powerful force in the royal family, was opposed to Abdullah being named crown prince and wanted Hassan as King: because Abdullah is half British she was concerned about keeping a ‘pure’ Arab line of Jordanian rulers. Many people in Jordan considered it unfitting that as half British he should be an heir to the Hashemite throne, which traces its descent directly to the Prophet Muhammad. (King Abdullah claims to be the 43rd generation descendant of the prophet).

Abdullah’s naming was somewhat of a shock to most Jordanians, who believed their new king would be the experienced, if uncharismatic, Hassan, who served as crown prince for some 35 years. This last minute change is significant, as Abdullah had never been groomed to take over the throne. He had always wanted a life behind the scenes , a stance represented until recently in Jordan’s international affairs policies: Indeed Abdullah had always highlighted a policy of non-interference in the affairs of others. He has been careful not to commit Jordan to get into the West Bank or Iraq. As he sees it: “If there is a role for the Hashemites, that comes many years down the line if the Iraqis want it. I don't believe that Amman should get involved in Baghdad.” . This stance is typical of Abdullah’s belief that moderation is key to good international governance, a belief that can be traced to his western schooling.

Going back: Western Education, a problem in Jordan?

Born in Amman to King Hussein and his second British wife Antoinette Avril Gardiner, Abdullah only attended a Jordanian school -the Islamic Educational College- in Amman for his primary education. All his subsequent schooling was done in the UK and America, attending institutions and academies there. Once his secondary education finished he entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the UK (previously attended by Hussein) and subsequently pursued a career in the military, later attending Oxford and Georgetown universities for one year international relations and foreign service programs respectively.
If some parts of his background appear alien to his subjects, his prominent military role has won him their loyalty. This is especially true among East Bank Jordanians, those of indigenous tribal origin, who make up the backbone of the Jordanian military and the political classes. His education though has been a motor for relations with Britain and the US.

Abdullah and Britain

King Abdullah’s education and military training in the UK as well as being himself half British combine to place Britain highly in the Kings’ affections: “I've always had a very warm place in my heart for the British people, Londoners in particular” and King Abdullah retains close links with the British Army and is the Colonel-in-Chief of The Light Dragoons, a tank regiment and the successor to the 13th/18th Royal Hussars.
However his inherent link to Britain has also been somewhat of a problem. Abdullah's English heritage has been a cause for unease among many Jordanians. His command of classical Arabic is less than perfect while his English is fluent. Abdullah also mostly appears in photos and interviews dressed in western suits and rarely wears the Jordanian national headdress that his father would frequently wear. This is somewhat problematic, with some Jordanians fearing an increase of western influence at a time when US and UK policies towards Iraq and Israel are deeply unpopular.

Abdullah, Hussein’s Son

Abdullah, 37, certainly resembles his father physically and is reputed to be of a similar character. Growing up, he has modeled himself after his father, pursuing a career in the military and even attending the same school: the Sandhurst Military Academy in Britain. King Hussein saw these similarities and his decision to crown Abdullah as king seemed to be that he had found in him someone who was going to continue his own legacy of moderation, peace and conflict management in the region, and a strong western ally. However, For Abdullah, the pressure to be King Hussein’s successor is still somewhat of a burden to bare. Indeed, the late King Hussein built Jordan, and there is still much more to accomplish. If Jordan is to remain the stable country that it is, King Abdullah will have to make fundamental changes, incorporating national traditions and the 21st Century. This will continue to be difficult, as Abdullah’s untested in the diplomatic and political minefield through which his father guided the kingdom for the last five decades.

Abdullah and Rania

Influencing the way his subjects view his commitments, Abdullah can also point to his wife, Rania Al-Yassin (now Queen Rania al-Abdullah), a Kuwait-born, Jordan-bred educated woman of Palestinian origins, to reassure the majority of Jordanians, (estimated as 60% of the pop.) who originate from Palestine, of his sympathy towards their concerns. Although successful in business and trade, these Jordanians of Palestinian origin are largely excluded from the key centres of power. The poorest percentage of Jordanians are also Palestinians inhabiting refugee camps - who are potentially the most disaffected element. Rania is also the perfect ambassador for Jordan, a beautiful, thoroughly modern Arab woman who is praised for her philanthropic work, although criticized for her frequent interviews to the Western press and her fondness for haute couture.

In the Present:

Abdullah’s Amman Message is perhaps the most representative of his character, his father’s legacy and his own education and beliefs. The way the Jordanian Embassy in the US describes the Amman Message is representative of the continuation legacy, the closeness of Hussein and Abdullah in their visions, and their responsibility in the international community: “For five decades, his late Majesty King Hussein Bin Talal, God rest his soul, persisted tirelessly to reform the image and support the unity of the world’s Muslims. His Majesty King Abdullah II has continued this effort with the same steadfastness and determination to ward off Muslim image tarnishing, marginalization and isolation and to assert what the world’s 1.2 billion Muslims expect themselves to be: full partners in the development of human civilization, and in the progress of humanity in our age.” . The Amman Message has been a cry for the silent majority of moderate Muslims to speak out against the way Islam’s name is being corrupted. For Abdullah, extremism cannot be truly religious or Islamic. In this cry, certain objectives have been set one of which is to take back the streets in spreading a moderate Islamic message in the Middle east and in Muslim populations in the West. To attain this goal, Jordan has come together with the UK to set training schools for clerics, to require higher education for these teachers who usually come from the lowest educated classes. The goal is to stop the call to arms some clerics have been accused of promoting.

The End:

Although not in the limelight of western press, Abdullah is a very pertinent international figure, one of importance in Middle Eastern affairs due to his kingdom’s geography and history. Abdullah’ s foreign policy is to continue his father’s difficult legacy of peace and conflict management and mediation in regional affairs. Due to his own education, identity and family ties, he also sets out to maintain a strong relationship with the western world, especially with Britain and America.

In the past year Abdullah has slowly stepped into his own style of rule, recently speaking out about developments inside Iraq, questioning Arafat’s actions, and advising Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad to consider Bush's demand for a withdrawal from Lebanon. For some, there is concern that the monarch is incongruous with U.S. interests in Iraq and the Middle East, while pretending otherwise . For others, such as the citizens of Arab Gulf states, his outspokenness has changed perceptions for the better, overturning a previously poor outlook on Jordanian politics caused by Jordan's position of neutrality during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Either way, this new found vocalism is reflective of the waning of the Hussein continuation policy that Abdullah had sworn by when his father died. There is a careful balance here with a largely Palestinian population to keep its objective in creating a Palestinian State as well as remaining in cordial relations with Israel.
Jordan prides itself in being a peaceful and stable country but how long until one of its neighbor’s conflicts spills over? Between Iraq, Palestine, Israel and Syria, Abdullah is in a politically precarious position that will most likely remain delicate. Today’s political realities signify a turning point for Jordan: the ‘honeymoon period’ is over and it is time for Abdullah to provide his own policies, reflective of current events, and not simply continue a legacy no longer applicable.

sources:
www.npr.org
Interview with His Majesty King Abdullah by BBC's Lyse Doucet July 8, 2005
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2218-2005Mar25.html
www.news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/365068.stm
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC04.php?CID=136
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC04.php?CID=136
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/264727.stm
www.mideastnews.com
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=583538&page=1
http://www.natashatynes.org/newswire/2005/03/king_abdullah_i.html
Interview with His Majesty by CNN's Jane Arraf July 9, 2005
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/264727.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/264727.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/265093.stm
http://www.jordanembassyus.org/new/pr/pr11092004.shtml
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2218-2005Mar25.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/264727.stm