Brookings: Topics - Jordan

Foreign Policy

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:23:32 GMT

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Democracy Promotion and America’s Key Arab Allies: Limits and Prospects

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:00:00 GMT

Event Information:

July 28, 2009, 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

The Brookings Doha Center hosted a discussion on democracy promotion and key U.S. allies in the Arab world. The panel was addressed by Roula Attar, the resident country director in Jordan for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and Anouar Boukhars, Brookings Doha Center visiting fellow. Hady Amr, director of the Doha Center, moderated the discussion.

Civil Society and Public Freedom in Jordan

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

In a Saban Center Working Paper, former Todd G. Patkin Visiting Fellow Sameer Jarrah analyzes public freedoms in Jordan and points to the combination of state action and internal deficiencies within civic groups as the reasons for the stalled reform process. Jarrah argues that it is in the security interest of the Jordanian government to enable civic organizations because they can provide a counterbalance to extremist groups and serve as a productive outlet for citizen discontent.

Going Home? Prospects and Pitfalls for Large-Scale Return of Iraqis

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Recently discussion has turned to the prospects for the large-scale return of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) to Iraq. More than 4 million Iraqis have been displaced, either internally or externally. And while the Iraqi and US governments, policymakers in the region, and humanitarian actors assume that most will return to Iraq in the near future, Elizabeth Ferris points out that experience with other displacement crises indicates that return will be neither automatic nor straightforward.

Returns to Iraq: Questions and More Questions

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

As violent incidents decrease in Iraq and as US combat troops prepare to withdraw, expectations will grow that Iraqis will return to their communities in growing numbers. In fact, UN Officials and political leaders in Iraq, the region, and the US have always expected that return will be the durable solution for Iraqi IDPs and refugees without giving serious consideration to other options. For returns to be successful, the government of Iraq and the international community need to learn from the lessons of other mass returns of displaced populations and refugees.

Global Economic Crisis: Mixed Forecast for Jordan and Syria

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Jordan and Syria have recently faced similar economic challenges such as absorbing large numbers of Iraqi refugees and fighting high inflation. Yet the global economic slowdown may have unique implications for development and reform in each country, as Taher Kanaan and Nader Kabbani reveal in interviews with the Middle East Youth Initiative’s Navtej Dhillon.

The Middle Eastern Marriage Crisis

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The Middle East Youth Initiative collaborates with NOW on PBS on a documentary about youth employment in Jordan. In a special online supplement, NOW interviews Navtej Dhillon, Brookings fellow and director of the Middle East Youth Initiative, on the challenges facing youth across the Middle East—including unemployment and delayed marriage—and the role of the international community in contributing to reform and development in the region.

Surge in the Number of Iraqi Refugees

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 16:20:14 GMT

A new United Nations report finds that in the past year the number of refugees worldwide has increased from 9 to 11 million. Khalid Koser, deputy director of the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, discusses the causes behind this increase as well as possible implications if the number of refugees continues to climb.

Middle East’s Economic Paradox

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

According to a recent study by the Middle East Youth Initiative, the region loses $25 billion a year due to youth unemployment. Navtej Dhillon, MEYI Director/Fellow, Jad Chaaban, Assistant Professor at American University of Beirut, and Tarik Yousef, Brookings Senior Fellow and Dean of the Dubai School of Government, discuss country statistics and regional policy implications.

The Arab Center: The Promise of Moderation

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:30:00 GMT

Event Information:

June 16, 2008, 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM

Arab moderates who embrace a future of regional peace and democracy appear to be losing ground in today’s Middle East. On June 16, the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings hosted Marwan Muasher, former foreign minister and deputy prime minister of Jordan and Thomas L. Friedman for a discussion of Muasher's new book, The Arab Center: The Promise of Moderation, and how to make a moderate future more possible in the Middle East.

Salafists Ascendant in the Arab World

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Khalil Al-Anani says conservatism is on the rise in the Middle East. He notes that by using modern communication technology, groups like the Salafis in Kuwait have spread their conservative ideas to younger generations, thus threatening moderate Islam.

America and the Middle East: The Role of Public Opinion

Thu, 15 May 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Event Information:

May 15, 2008, 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM

On May 15, 2008, The Brookings Doha Center (BDC), a project of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, hosted Shibley Telhami for the first in-house BDC policy luncheon. The discussion focused on Dr. Telhami’s latest academic polling on public attitudes in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Counterterrorism Trip Report: Israel and Jordan

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Daniel Byman traveled to Israel and Jordan in March—a time of crisis in the Middle East. During Byman’s trip, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired rockets against the Israeli cities of Sderot and Ashkelon, an attack occurred in the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem, and Israel took retaliatory measures in the Gaza Strip. In both Israel and Jordan, Byman found that the predominant mood was one of frustration and gloom. Israelis felt trapped between their sense that inaction would encourage more violence and their recognition that the military and political options looked unpromising. Jordanians fretted that the Israeli reaction to the violence would strengthen the radicals politically.

Freedom of Association: A Case Study from Jordan

Thu, 22 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Event Information:

March 22, 2007 at 12:00 AM

Iraqi Refugees: Carriers of Conflict

Wed, 01 Nov 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Article by Daniel L. Byman and Kenneth M. Pollack, The Atlantic Monthly (November 2006)

The Iraq War Has Only Set Back Middle East Reform

Mon, 14 Mar 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Shibley Telhami, NPR.org (3/14/05)