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Keys
to the Kingdom National Anthem The Office Foreign Affairs |
The idea of unity is a powerful and emotive political imperative within the Arab world, as Arabs share a common language, culture and much of the same historical background. In respect to the promotion of Arab unity, Jordan represents what can be termed the “federal” school of thought, long espoused by the Hashemites. The main viewpoint of this school is that the Arab countries, especially in Asia, should organize politically along federal lines. Jordan and other members of the “federal” school have pursued a moderate approach aimed at creating and strengthening true bonds of cooperation between Arab states. The Hashemite commitment to Arab unity has been demonstrated repeatedly. Sharif Hussein led the Great Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire after having been promised a unified state for the Arabs. After the conclusion of World War I, however, separatist forces and local Arab chieftains colluded with Britain and France to impose the confederal state system against the will of the majority of the Arab populace. The confederal scheme was later institutionalized in 1945 by the adoption of the Charter of the League of Arab States, and it remains in effect today. The Hashemite quest to unify the Arabs into a cohesive state nonetheless continued. King Abdullah, the founder of the modern state of Jordan and the grandfather of the current monarch, King Hussein, repeatedly tried to unite Jordan, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon into a single entity. At times he also included Iraq in these unity plans. However, supporters of the confederal scheme, as well as the primary regional power, Britain, thwarted all of King Abdullah’s initiatives for unity except one—in Palestine. After a military and political struggle to defend as much of mandate Palestine as possible from the Zionist forces, King Abdullah managed to unite Jordan and the West Bank in 1950. The unification of Jordan and the West Bank was achieved politically and voluntarily, and assisted in defending the West Bank from Israeli expansion for 17 years. After Israel occupied the West Bank (and the Gaza Strip) in June 1967, the federation arrangement continued for another 21 years. It was formally dissolved only on July 31, 1988, when Jordan severed its legal and administrative links with the occupied West Bank. Although the West Bank-Jordan federation was in many ways a successful and viable experiment, Jordan has acknowledged the strength of Palestinian desires for an independent state. It considers the Palestine Liberation Organization the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and refuses any attempt to negotiate on their behalf. Countering the advocates of a viable Arab federation have been the supporters of the “confederal” school of thought. While this school has often employed the language of Arab unity, the policies of its members have sometimes resulted in dividing the Arabs. The “unity” of the confederal school has usually meant domination of one state by another, while the federal approach advocates genuine cooperation between equal states. Since the confederal framework has historically been the prevailing one, its supporters see themselves as status quo powers. Concomitantly, they oppose any party that would challenge this status quo. In addition to differing over the desired type of relations between Arab states, Jordan has posed a challenge to the status quo in two other vital areas. Jordan has long interacted positively with global powers in an independent fashion, without total submission to, or total rejection of what they propose. More importantly, perhaps, is the question of how the state should interact with its citizens. Jordan enjoys the most liberal human rights record in the Middle East, and is on the road to a thriving pluralistic democracy. |
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