Activism in Jordan

by Pénélope Larzillière, Cynthia Schoch (Translator)

The uprisings of the Arab Spring drew attention not only to the nations in which they occurred, but also to still-standing authoritarian regimes in surrounding nations. Among those, Jordan is, paradoxically, both one of the most democratically limited and the most stable—yet despite the many obstacles to political activity, it nonetheless is home to a growing opposition movement.

Activism in Jordan charts the history and potential of democratic activism in Jordan, showing how opposition has shifted in recent years from underground movements to the closely controlled public sphere. Talking to activists both new and long-standing, Pénélope Larzillière reveals their motivations, their commitments, and the often terrible consequences of their activism for their lives, livelihood, and families. Their accounts of their political journeys not only shed light on the potential for change in Bahrain, but on the general conditions necessary for activism in a repressive regime and the meaning people attach to their commitment and their chosen ideologies.

248 pages, Hardcover

First published December 15, 2015

Reviews

[Jonathan Fryer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The French sociologist Penelope Larzilliere is best known for her work on young Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, but this study of political activism focuses on neighbouring Jordan, whose population is split between Palestinians and Transjordanian tribes. The activists' fault lines are more ideological, however, including Communists and socialists, the Muslim Brotherhood and various Salafi Islamist groups, as well as those who have opted to work in the NGO sector or in professional organisations. Jordan is by no means the most repressive of Arab states, though there are still no go areas in public discourse, not least any questioning of the monarchy. The so-called Arab Spring was quite mild in Jordan, yet the few concessions accorded by the regime were counter-balanced by censorship and arrests. Quite a number of the people Larzilliere interviewed for the book were in prison at one time or another and it is the trajectory of their personal stories that gives it life. While academically based, the style is accessible to an informed general reader and the text has been ably translated by Cynthia Schoch.