A qualitative examination of renewable energy in Jordan via neoliberalism lens: a contemporary analysis

The study explores neoliberal dynamics and implications in Jordan’s renewable energy sector, seeking to understand how various neoliberal dimensions including foreign investments, international institutions, regulatory reforms, and geopolitical dynamics, have shaped the sector from 2011 to the present. The study examines the structural constraints facing Jordan’s pursuit of energy self-sufficiency amid its historical dependency on external sources and conditional funding frameworks. The study employes the qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews conducted on an expert purposive sample of 18 energy experts. Thematic analysis was conducted using MAXQDA to generate thematic insights into how economic influence from international financial institutions has entrenched structural dependency; how regulatory reforms, often influenced by investor-driven logics, have led to legislative volatility and weakened institutional coherence; and how domestic actors such as NEPCO operate within constrained, debt-laden systems that hinder renewable energy reform. The findings also highlight the exclusionary nature of the energy transition, with socioeconomic implications for the population. Geopolitical alignments further complicate Jordan’s autonomy, while water scarcity, industrial limitations, and environmental degradation underscore the fragility of sectoral integration. Although diversification efforts, storage technologies, and green hydrogen initiatives are emerging, they pose questions about the viability of broader structural transformation. Across these intersecting forces, renewable energy remains embedded in externally conditioned reform paradigms that reproduce dependency and undermine national development. By contextualizing the dynamics within broader neoliberal paradigms, the study critiques the depoliticized framing of energy transitions and highlights the contradictions between technical advancements and fragmented governance.