Populism and Political Opposition in Jordanian Politics

Abstract Jordan’s experience with populism does not follow the patterns that we have seen in other regions, or even in other Middle East countries. But Jordan has seen waves of different types of populism throughout its history. This paper examines a series of populist movements with a view to understanding the nature of populism and opposition in Jordan today. Examining populism within Jordan helps clarify past and present forms of political opposition in the Hashemite Kingdom, and it shows that the regime has always been more alarmed when opposition movements take a populist turn – whether these are rooted in Pan-Arab nationalism, Islamism, or tribal and nativist nationalism. While the study of populism can therefore help illuminate Jordanian opposition dynamics, the Jordanian case also presents an important perspective to the extant literature on populism, because it represents a case of populism that is not rooted in a single ruler or in a dominant political party. Indeed, Jordan’s latest wave of populism can be found within some of the same elites and tribes that have historically supported the regime the most. The Jordanian case also shows how populism can emerge even without a charismatic populist opposition leader at its helm, and without a ruling party or even a strong party system at all.