Zagadka stabilności politycznej Królestwa Jordanii. Monarchia na tle kryzysu struktur państwowych w świecie arabskim
Jordan’s Political Stability against the Background of a Crisis of State Structures in the Arab World

Summary/Abstract: Serious political crises observed in the Arab world since 2011 have resulted in the overthrow of or attacks on several dictatorships, but it is interesting to note that deep crises of state structures were observed in the Arab republics, while the monarchies retained a political and social stability. The author observes that this is hardly a coincidence, as the monarchs rely on the traditional legitimacy of power, with the reigning dynasties depend either on their descent from Prophet Muhammad or on their contribution to the renewal of Islam. The authority of these monarchs is close to absolute, even in Jordan, where many European arrangements have been adopted (constitution, parliament, elections). The text examines several decades in the development of Jordan, focussing on the crises of authority in 1951, 1956–1957, 1967–1970 and 1989–1991. At the time of crises the Hashemites draw on their prerogatives as absolute rulers and on the concept of the ruler in Islamic tradition, so the history of Jordan may be quoted as example of the stabilising role of the monarchy in the Arab world.

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