Development Policies and Political Evolution of Jordan - Essay Example

CASE STUDY OF JORDAN Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………………………2 2. Facts and Figures……………………………………………………………………….3 3. Political Evolution………………………………………………………………………5 4. Development Policies…………………………………………………………………..7 5. Foreign Relations……………………………………………………………………..11 6. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………….12 1. Introduction The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordon, more commonly known as Jordon, is an Arab nation, located at the South western part of the Asian continent spread over the Syrian desert to the Gulf of Aqaba sharing borders with neighboring countries like Syria, Iraq, Israel, Palestine, and Saudi Arabia. The Jordanian Government is a constitutional monarchy, which is based on the constitution formed on January 8, 1952. The ultimate power of decision making is vested in the King who is solely authorized to sign and govern all laws concerning the nation, which can be overruled by a two thirds vote of both the houses of the National Assembly. He has the power to appoint or dismiss the judges, amend the constitution, wage wars, and control the armed forces. He appoints the council of ministers, led by the Prime Minister, which is entrusted with the responsibility of overlooking the affairs of the country concerning general policies. The Jordanian constitution offers three types of courts – civil, religious and special, and its administration comprises of a total of twelve governorates each of which is led by a governor, who in turn is appointed by the King. The governors of each governorate are responsible for supervising and managing all the government departments as well as developmental projects in their respective regions1. 2. Facts and Figures Table 1: Government2 Type Constitutional Monarchy Independence May 25, 1946 Constitution January 8, 1952 Branches Executive – King (chief of state), Prime Minister (head of government), Council of Ministers (cabinet), Legislative – bicameral National Assembly, Judicial – civil, religious, special courts Political Parties Wide spectrum of parties legalized in 1992 Suffrage Universal at 18 Administrative Subdivisions 12 governorates: Irbid, Jarash, Ajloun, al – ‘Aqaba, Madaba, al – Mafraq, Amman, al – Balqa, al – Karak, al – Tafilah and Ma’an Table 2: Economy (2007)3 Nominal GDP $ 13.55 billion Annual Real Growth Rate 5.7% Per Capita GDP: $ 4700 Agriculture Land: 10% arable, 5% cultivated Products: citrus, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, sheep, poultry, stone fruits, strawberries, melons, dairy Types Clothing, phosphate mining, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, cement, potash, inorganic chemicals, light manufacturing and tourism Trade Imports: $13.5 billion – crude petroleum and derivatives, fabrics and textile, machinery and equipment, manufactured goods, iron and cereals Exports: $ 5.708 billion – garments, pharmaceutical products, vegetables, fertilizers, phosphate and potash Major Markets: U.S., Iraq, India, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Syria, Israel Major Suppliers: EU, China, US, Egypt, South Korea, Japan, Turkey 3. Political Evolution Jordan, a predominantly monarchist regime, has seen tremendous transformation on the political front in the past decade. Its transition from monarchy towards a democracy has resulted in establishment of a multi party system, as well as framing of revolutionary laws and policies that aimed to ensure and safeguard political freedom. Jordan aims to establish itself as a model of a modern Islamic state with humanistic values. In pursuit of its ideals and a vision to create a model framework for the social, political and economic development of their country, the Ministry for Political Development was established in the year 2003. This organization put forward a formal definition that aptly described the country’s political ideologies. It is mentioned below: “Development is a modernization process that will develop the relationship between the State and society, which will foster public stability and social peace through developing the law regulating public affairs, stimulating public participation, restructuring the public concepts of organizational and institutional structures and transforming the concepts of adjustment loyalty, transparency, accountability and participation from the theoretical stage into the application sphere."4 Women’s Issues: There has also been a significant revolution in the status of Jordanian women in politics, who are now allowed a generous 20% quota in the municipal council seats for women. Such as step is heralded as a momentous movement on the country’s political front initiated to bring about legitimate merit – based involvement of women in politics. The year 2007 witnessed the first ever Jordanian High Level Gender Forum under the patronage of HM the Queen, intended to discover new methods to encourage participation of women in both social as well as economic life. In the same year, Jordan’s National Center for Human Resources Development in association with the Jordanian National Commission for women published a study that sought to encourage participation of women in the country’s active workforce5. Freedom of Speech & Role of Media: The media is still largely controlled by the government and with substantial amount of stakes in various forms of Media including TV, radio, and to some extent newspapers. Freedom of speech is largely restricted and is subject to censorship from the government authorities. A proposal of recommendations was proposed to the government in the year 2000, seeking liberal policies and transferring the control of content to the media, which was subsequently rejected. However, significant reforms have been witnessed in the Jordanian Radio and Television Corporation since 20036. The country receives assistance from international bodies such as the United States’ National Democratic Institute for International Affairs as well as the International Republican Institute, which strives to offer democratic assistance as well as advocacy skills to the community leaders so as to help them various fields such as political guidance in mobilizing and assembling constituencies, or advocating women’s rights7. However, in spite of the government’s efforts to bring about political revolution in the Islamic state, the country faces strong resistance in terms of voter apathy and corruption at various levels in the administration. 4. Development Policies The developmental policies in Jordan encompass a vast range of policy measures that includes strengthening the country’s democracy, establishing a robust framework of laws, setting up practices of good governance, ensuring transparency in its administration processes, eliminating corruption, ensuring an independent and impartial judiciary system, upgrading its economic policies, as well as reestablishing its administrative capabilities. Several reform measures taken up by the government were apparent in the current year 2007, which saw a wide range of reforms ranging from empowerment of women to liberalization of press and media rights to the upgradation of minority communities. The social fabric of a nation is essential in bringing about a political reform since it helps in attracting foreign investment which is essential for its economic growth and development. Democracy & Rule of Law One of the major hindrances towards such reforms is widespread corruption at various administrative levels of the country’s political system. In order to take active steps to prevent such corruption the Jordanian legislation which strives to fight corruption by establishing various laws to that effect which includes the law of financial disclosure as well as the law that governed the formation of anti – corruption commission which were adopted in December 2006. However the anti – corruption commission has been stagnated owing to lack of resources. The Ministry of Environment also contributed to its share of developmental measures by seeking to initiate progressive measures towards public sector reforms as an integral part of its agenda for the current year. Legislations concerning the role of political parties which prevented propagation of diminutive political parties with smaller number of members was adopted and passed in March 2007. Similar legislations were passed on the completion of the Jordian JUST (Judicial Upgrade Strategy) for justice reforms which strived to increase the potential and effectiveness of the Jordanian Judicial System8. Public Welfare and Administration The government of Jordan aims to strengthen its endeavors in enriching the productivity and efficiency of its citizens in relation to the projects established for elimination of poverty and unemployment. The public body responsible for governing such measures intended for public welfare is the Ministry of Social Development which, in conjunction with the local private bodies and NGOs seeks to fuel the growth and development of its citizens. Human Rights & Fundamental Freedom The policies in this aspect seek to fortify the ties between freedom of media and freedom of expression, as well as the development of the civil society, ascertain and safeguard regular and strict compliance with laws governing human rights in the treatment of its citizens, women empowerment which includes promoting active participation of women in various spheres such as politics as well as economic workforce, and encouraging and ensuring social rights and core labor standards. This was however, sought to be achieved with the introduction of the Press and Publication laws in 2007, which forbids the arresting of individuals voicing their opinions on a range of issues. The law on Right of access to Information also passed in the same year, ensures access of any government document to the general public. A draft law for Juvenile Justice was proposed in 2007, while efforts are on to frame laws to prevent child labor. The UN Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women was adopted in the year 2007, which sought to remove certain restrictive laws against women which hampered their development, however not all reservations were removed9. Employment and Social Policy Youth unemployment is a major concern in Jordan with almost 13.7% of the population reported to be unemployed according to the figures available on November 2007. In order to ensure better job opportunities to the country’s youth the government established a company in July 2007 with a public / private joint venture with the Jordanian Ministry of Labor, to provide training and development to the country’s youth. Similarly in order to bring about substantial reforms in the social front, the government has established a Social Council that seeks to deal with issues such as physical and sexual abuse, human law trafficking etc. among others10. 5. Foreign Relations Jordan has consistently displayed unswerving support in terms of adopting pro western foreign policy and has traditionally had strong ties with the United States as well as the United Kingdom. It has always being vocal and forthright in voicing its opinion that establishing an atmosphere of fair and ever lasting peace in the country would not be possible under constant exposure to subjugation, destitution and violence and as a precedence to its state’s views set to establish a peaceful settlement of the Arab – Israeli peace settlement immediately after its independence as a separate state. This act sealed the beginning of a nation with deep rooted belief in peace and the need for harboring favorable ties with its neighboring countries. Hence, in spite of the turbulent times that the country underwent which was marked by decades of recurrent wars, large scale human suffering and pain, political insurgency and fundamentalist ideologies, that dominated the Middle East, Jordan managed to stay afloat with its conventional regional role as a force of moderation and voice of reason11. The foreign policy of this Hashemite Kingdom is established on the foundation of deep rooted belief in peace and a high regard and respect for the international legitimacy of the United Nations Charter and resolutions. Establishment of a legitimate policy for the Palestinian – Israeli and Arab – Israeli conflict dominated the country’s foreign policy agenda since the country’s independence which continued through out the war of 1997. 6. Conclusion As a relatively undersized nation with restricted resources and the quest for peace and all round development of its nation, one of the basic and most significant concerns that the country’s policy makers face today, include protecting its immediate national interests. Its approach towards peace and socio – economic development are commendable and its geostrategic outlook is largely focused on ensuring upliftment of its nation and aiming for long term growth and development. This vision entails preserving peaceful relations with its neighboring countries and being in constant pursuit of its internal goals and policies aimed towards bettering the lives of its citizens, and in the process project itself as a model state with liberal policies and strong socio – economic visions in the Middle East. Read More