The Jordanian Military: A Key Regional Ally

Abstract

Abstract: Jordan has weathered a number of political challenges inspired by the Arab Spring in a way that has preserved the regime's control. The Jordanian military's role in these developments has been neglected but is critical to understand, particularly as the United States and its coalition partners continue to deal with violent extremist threats in the region. ********** Since early 2011, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has weathered a number of political challenges inspired by the Arab Spring. Analysts agree the regime has navigated the demands of its population in a way that has preserved its control. (1) Although on the surface, the Jordanian establishment has much less to fear from the Arab Spring in terms of its long-term power, there are important challenges the monarchy must address in the coming years. The Jordanian military's role in these developments has often been neglected, despite its increasing importance as a crucial component of the ruling political coalition. Most academic work on the subject of the Jordanian armed forces has merely assumed the institution's acquiescence to any political change approved by the king. As such, the army is characterized as being professional and, so far, dependable. (2) This characterization ignores the occasionally tumultuous relationship the military has had with past monarchs and the recent strain between military officials and the ruling family, which points to fissures in the dependability of the armed forces. In any given society, the military is one of the most powerful institutions, even when under the control of civilian officials. Particularly in the Middle East, the military has been identified as a key institutional player regardless regime, in the setting and execution of government policy. (3) Military forces have also played a central role in deciding the outcomes of protest movements and revolutions in countries affected by the Arab Spring. (4) As such, and particularly in the case of Jordan--a monarchy dependent on a tribally-dominated military to maintain its rule--an analysis of the army is crucial to understanding future political developments. Using an institutionalist approach, this article utilizes indicators of civil-military relations to outline the army's position in Jordan today. It explores the military's unique relationship to the Hashemite monarchy, and its evolution since the creation of Jordan in 1946. While the Jordanian military establishment has so far been similar to those of other modern monarchies--playing a key role in both containing political turmoil and maintaining an acceptable pace of reforms--its increasing self-awareness and pursuit of its corporate interests threaten to challenge the monarchy's grip on the institution overall. Historical Development Scholars utilizing the institutionalist approach highlight critical junctures that bind actors in certain arrangements, with greater effects as time passes. (5) To understand contemporary Jordanian civil-military relations, it is important to examine the historical development of the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) and identify the critical junctures responsible for its evolution. The JAF emerged from the Arab Legion, an institution under British command, passed to the command of King Abdullah I in 1949. (6) The king was from a different region, and had blatantly coordinated with the British in the 1948 war. Subsequently, the ruling family lacked the civic-myth responsible for its legitimacy. (7) For this reason, the rule of King Abdullah I came to an abrupt end with his assassination in 1951. King Abdullah's grandson, Hussain, ascended the throne in 1952. In the same year, the Free Officers movement seized power in Egypt, and Arab nationalist ideology began to sweep the region. King Hussain gained intelligence that there were many nationalistic officers sympathetic to challenging his rule, and a coup was attempted a year later by officers emulating the Egyptian example. …