This course explores internal, regional and international dynamics that shaped Jordanian politics in general. It will delve into different Jordanian internal and external affairs. The course examines the events that shape the political system in Jordan, and in interplay with the entire region, in light of the Arab Spring (2010 onward). It’s focus tackles questions related to political institutions and their development in a Middle Eastern context. It also intends to answer how and why political institutions take the form that they do, and how and when they endure noteworthy change. In addition, the course examines how social identities and political/religious and cultural groups influence Jordanian internal politics. This course explores conflict and diplomacy in the contemporary Middle East through an in-depth examination and discussion of case studies from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and how these cases influenced Jordan’s internal and external policies. Throughout the course, students will be given selected contemporary and comparative examples that help demonstrate the peculiarity of Jordan as the longest surviving political model in the Arab world. The course will be run in an interactive fashion and include discussions, lectures, and seminars.
