Jordan’s self-fulfilling prophecy: the production of feeble political parties and the perceived perils of democracy
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Authors
Martínez, JC
Publication Date
2017-07-03Journal Title
British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies
ISSN
1353-0194
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Volume
44
Issue
3
Pages
356-372
Language
English
Type
Article
This Version
AM
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Martínez, J. (2017). Jordan’s self-fulfilling prophecy: the production of feeble political parties and the perceived perils of democracy. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 44 (3), 356-372. https://doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2016.1193805
Abstract
This article analyses the depiction of political parties in a ‘hybrid regime’ so as to explain how state-sponsored articulatory practices contribute to the discrediting of potential opponents. Through an examination of textbooks, speeches and government documents combined with semi-structured interviews and participant observation, it dissects how tropes concerning party weakness or extremism make Jordan appear unprepared for democracy. Making the legal opposition seem menacing or incompetent helps the Hashemite regime legitimize the haphazard pace of political reforms. It is a crucial strategy through which the monarchy maintains the backing or tepid compliance of foreign and local supporters. Yet still, the discursive features of authoritarianism, in Jordan and elsewhere, continue to receive short shrift. Far from epiphenomenal, the monarchy’s discursive practices shape the conceptual universe and institutional contexts in which politics takes place.
Sponsorship
This research was funded by the Fullbright Commission (Fulbright Student Pre-Doctoral Research Grant).
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2016.1193805
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/256402
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