False Promises: Deep State and political reform in Jordan

Rana Alhajaia
It's common for Jordanian to look to politics and politicians in an effort to build better futures. There are
many promises of change, but not much seems to actually happen. What is the issue? A serious political
change is required to persuade people that the ballot boxes are legitimately their representatives, as seen by
the stark drop in election participation in Jordan.
The term "deep state" describes a group of connections and networks in Jordan's political and economic
scene. The corrupt deep state in Jordan is led by some intellectuals and political practitioners who manipulate
the facts about the current situation and represent themselves as a major players in the public movement
acting as political theorists to extend their authority to foreign political dignitaries and embassies.
It is no secret to anyone that there is a pattern of policies forms the main production of the decisions and
policies, given the high scale of corruption, it seems that the higher interests of the deep state are not
concerned with the homeland and the citizen as much as preserving private corrupted gains obtained by the
organizers of this state. Instead of being the basis for reforming, they became an element in a systematic
process dragging the country into political and social conflicts within the community by attacking the values
and traditions, and at the same time blaming the tribes for the political faults and weaknesses of the
governments!
This deep state includes some officials, lawmakers, politicians, financial advisers, and others from think
tanks in some strategic studies centers. Members construct a complex and connected web of shared interests.
They all labor toward the same objective of advancing and defending their individual interests and privileges.
Influential individuals in the deep state behave in a way even if it needs to violate social norms and laws,
providing the way for the operation of the "deep state" within Jordan, we are not to argue that it extends
beyond the state.
Since the main drivers of the scene in Jordan are led by liberals, they used the method of intimidation against
the radical forces and slandered the tribes on all counts. What is more dangerous to democracy than denying
that the popular movement for reform in Jordan started to express the need for tribal gains? Even it is not fair
to accuse all liberals of these mistakes but unfortunately, the existing model is so tragic!
The deep state theorists' only means of disguising the widespread protests against the corruption that has
brought poverty and unemployment to all facets of Jordanian society is the ongoing attack on the country's
tribes, but what exactly is a tribe? If people who experienced poverty, marginalization, and unemployment
existed and talked about solutions while by chance residing in the same area, would this indicate the presence
of a tribe-based existential plot against the state?
Blaming tribes for poor election results is incorrect because the one-vote legislation forced candidates to rely
on tribes but with direct intervention from security agencies.
The silence of the Palestinian camps who are Jordanian citizens does not mean that the economical and
political conditions in the camps are better, or that they do not seek change for a life worthy of them. This
silence is explained by the fear of withdrawing citizenship from them. In addition to the personal political
gains reaped by many leaders of the organizations in the camps at the expense of the rights of the people of
the camps, they suffer doubly.
In 2009 Withdrawal of nationality was based on the Disengagement decision between the west bank and
Jordan1988, in which the government acted amid popular reform movements, claiming that it was necessary
to address the situation of West Bank Palestinians living in Jordan in order to prevent the eviction of its
residents from Palestinian territory.
The former Jordanian intelligence director, Ahmad Obeidat, stressed the necessity of "closing the schools of
corruption that starved the values of the Jordanian people, falsified their will, confiscated their future".
But it is clear that the deep, corrupt state, in order to justify the unprecedented state of repression that the
country is going through, which reflects the inability of this corrupt elite to enjoy sufficient legitimacy.
Therefore, security violence and fabricated security narratives have become the basis for eliminating any
move aimed at promoting reform in Jordan.