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TheMysteryofPoliticalStabilityintheHashemiteKingdomofJordan…
Thisarticleseekstoanalysethisphenomenon—evenifatthisstageof
developmentssuchanalysismustofnecessitybepreliminaryinnature—with
afocusontheHashemiteKingdomofJordan.Whileneighbouringstatesfell
intoanarchy(IraqandSyria),forapoorcountryithasbeenquiteafeat
indeedforJordantomaintainpoliticalstability.Amajorfactorunderlying
Arabmonarchies’internalstabilityismonarchiclegalism,atraditional
justificationfortherulingfamilytoholdthereinsofpower.Afterexplaining
thedifferencesbetweenmonarchicandrepublicanlegalism,thistext
elaboratesonthepolicyoftheKingdomofJordanasanembodimentofthe
former.
ArabMonarchy
Giventhatmonarchy,asaformofgovernance,canalsobefoundin
Europe,itmightbearguedthatthereisnothingunusualinitspresenceinArab
states.Butthereisanenormousdifferencebetweenthetwo.Monarchiesin
theArabworldhavenothingincommonwithmodernconstitutionalism.One
exampleisSaudiArabia,wherereligiouslawtakestheplaceofaconstitution.
Theking’spowerinnotconstrainedbyanyrepresentativeinstitution.Heis
boththeheadofstateandtheownerofalargeportionofnationalproperty.
Therelationshipbetweentheauthoritiesandthepopulaceisinitsentirety
arelationshipbetweenrulersandruled.Popularsovereigntyisnon-existent,
eveninavestigialform.Atthesametime,themonarch’spersonalpower
facesconstraintsthatareunknowninEurope.Onesuchconstraintisreligious
law,whichinSaudiArabiafollowsWahhabism,the“puritan”interpretation
onSunniIslam.Itsobservanceisguardedbyapowerfulclasscalledthe
ulama,thoselearnedinthelawandritual.Foraccuracy’ssake,SaudiArabia
isthepropertynotsomuchoftheking,asoftheHouseofSaud.Theruling
dynastyhasitsownmechanismsforleadershipcontrol—anineffectiveruler
canbeforcedbythefamilytostepdown,asindeedhappenedinthepast—
butthesemechanismsareinformal.2
ThecontemporaryArabkingdomscanbegroupedintothosethat
formallyadoptedtheWesternideaofaconstitutionalstate,andthosethatdid
not.Jordan,MoroccoandKuwaitareconstitutionalmonarchies,andSaudi
Arabiaisobviouslynot.Aspecificformofgovernancehasdevelopedinthe
UnitedArabEmirates,whichhasaconstitutionandWestern-styleinstitutions
2
J.Zdanowski,HistoriaArabiiSaudyjskiej,ZakładNarodowyim.Ossolińskich,2004,
pp.158,197.
ThePolishQuarterlyofInternationalAffairs,2016,no.4
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