Hussein’s last years and the ascent of Abdullah II

In January 1995 Hussein signed accords with the PLO pledging support for Palestinian autonomy and the establishment of a Palestinian state that included East Jerusalem. The Palestinians nevertheless remained hostile to the peace treaty with Israel, as did Syria and a large segment of the population led by the IAF. Hussein became increasingly frustrated with what he considered to be the obstructionist policies of the Israeli government, but he still played a central role in brokering a deal between Israel and the PLO regarding Israeli withdrawal from Hebron in the West Bank in early 1997. In addition, Hussein acted as a mediator between the Israelis and Palestinians in an agreement made in October 1998 at the Wye Plantation in eastern Maryland. By then Hussein’s health was failing. Shortly before his death in February 1999, he proclaimed his son Abdullah to be his successor, rather than his brother Hassan, who had been the crown prince.

Early policies

In his first several years as king, the new monarch carved out a vigorous foreign policy that generally reflected his original goals. Strong political and economic bonds were formed with neighbouring Arab states—especially Egypt and Syria—and the king reshuffled his cabinet on several occasions while attempting to modernize and invigorate the economy. Government security services thwarted several violent attacks by Islamic militants (directed mostly at the security services themselves), and parliamentary elections took place in 2003. The new parliament was made up mostly of independents, but the IAF polled highest among the organized parties.

Domestically, Jordan’s efforts to reform its electoral process were hampered by the country’s contentious identity politics, primarily the tension between Jordanians of Palestinian origin, who often support opposition groups such as the IAF, and Jordanians descended from Bedouin tribes, who tend to support the government. Observers and opposition leaders questioned the integrity of the parliamentary elections in 2003 and 2007, claiming that fraud and gerrymandering had been used to disenfranchise Palestinian Jordanian voters, thus ensuring that Jordan’s pro-government faction retained substantial majorities in the House of Representatives (Majlis al-Nuwwāb). Elections held in 2010, boycotted by the IAF, once again yielded a strong majority for pro-government representatives with Bedouin tribal affiliations.

Arab Spring and reform

After several years of strong economic growth, the global economic recession in 2008–09 caused growth to slow in Jordan. In January 2011, following massive antigovernment demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt (see Arab Spring), thousands of Jordanians attended rallies in Amman to protest high prices, unemployment, public corruption, and a lack of democracy in Jordan. The crowds focused much of their anger on Jordan’s prime minister, Samir Rifai, and his government rather than on the king. The government responded to that popular discontent by announcing a package of subsidies for basic goods, but that did little to placate critics, and protests continued. On February 1 King Abdullah dismissed the government and appointed a new prime minister, Marouf al-Bakhit. In an official statement the king tasked Bakhit with introducing political reforms and improving living conditions for all Jordanians.

Weekly pro-reform demonstrations continued in spite of the change of government, and dozens of demonstrators were injured in clashes with police. The Jordanian government, eager to appear responsive to protesters’ concerns, continued to announce reform initiatives. In April the king appointed a 10-member royal committee to propose constitutional reforms, and a speech by the king in June promised to strengthen Jordan’s electoral democracy. A package of constitutional amendments based on the royal committee’s proposals was passed by the parliament in mid-September and approved by the king at the end of the month without public consultation. Opposition groups praised some of the changes, such as the creation of a constitutional court and new restrictions on the jurisdiction of the state security court, but objected that the amendments did not do enough to limit the power of the king and his appointees.

In October 2011 King Abdullah dismissed the cabinet for the second time in a year, replacing Bakhit with Awn Khasawneh as prime minister. To many, the quick dismissal of Bakhit—Jordan’s 60th prime minister since independence—signaled that politics were proceeding more or less as usual, with the king frequently dismissing cabinets and ministers as a means of deflecting popular frustration away from the monarchy itself. Khasawneh’s tenure lasted six months, and his immediate successor’s lasted only five.

Economic discontent remained high, and a series of riots and demonstrations broke out once more in late 2012 after the government reduced fuel subsidies in order to qualify for an IMF loan. Meanwhile, the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War next door added new pressures to Jordan’s economy. Refugees began to stream into the country, placing strain on infrastructure and services, while important trade routes were disrupted by the turmoil.

A new electoral law, passed in June 2012, was immediately denounced by the opposition for retaining the aspects of the old voting system that gave disproportionate weight to districts where support for the government was highest. When Abdullah called early legislative elections for January 2013, the IAF vowed to boycott them. The elections produced a new House of Representatives dominated by pro-government figures. Opposition leaders called the vote unfair and alleged that the official voter turnout of 56 percent had been inflated to boost the government’s credibility.

Continued reform and austerity

Electoral reform was again implemented in 2016, this time introducing a system of proportional representation. The IAF participated in the election for the first time in over a decade. Wary of public perception after years of vilification and nonparticipation, the party formed a political alliance known as the National Coalition for Reform (NCR) that included Christians and non-Islamist Muslims and that avoided campaigning under Islamist slogans. The NCR won only 15 of the 130 parliamentary seats but was the largest organized political group in parliament. The vast majority of seats were won by independent candidates unaffiliated with any party.

That same year Jordan embarked on a structural economic reform program guided by the IMF and aimed toward reducing public debt and spurring growth. The program required a number of austerity measures in the years that followed. The budget for 2017 reduced the deficit largely by raising taxes. Sales tax was increased on many goods in 2018 as subsidies for food staples were cut, though low-income individuals would receive cash transfers to offset the subsidy cuts. In late spring, as lawmakers debated a bill to raise income tax by 5 percent, Jordanians took to the streets in the largest protests since 2011. King Abdullah replaced his prime minister, and the new prime minister rescinded the tax bill. Months later, in November 2018, an amended tax bill was passed that exempted low-income households from the tax, though the amendment did not alleviate all concerns over the tax hike. In 2019 it appeared that the tax hike had backfired, hampering consumption and ultimately causing revenue collected from sales tax to decline. The following year the IMF approved a new program to spur growth. The timing, however, proved inopportune, as the global COVID-19 pandemic further stunted the economy.

In April 2021 an unusually public dispute took place within the royal family. Prince Hamzah ibn Hussein, King Abdullah’s half-brother and erstwhile crown prince (1999–2004) who was popular among the kingdom’s many tribes, was reportedly restricted from movement and communication. Other figures close to the royal family were detained on allegations of conspiracy; two were convicted of sedition in July. The following year, in April, Hamzah renounced his royal title, citing personal differences with state institutions.