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: I disagree. At one point King Hussein
: dissolved parliament and did not recall it
: until faced with a potential uprising 22
: years later. Even in Ms. Habib's book, it
: is clear that he did not really try to move
: toward genuine constitutional monarchy until
: he was literally on his deathbed.
:
: I wasn't aware that he tried to do this even
: on his deathbed. The manner of the
: succession and the virtually botched way it
: was handled suggests to me the complete
: opposite.
According to the Habbib book, King Hussein did make proclamations to that effect in his last days.
To me the succession issue raises a key theory of my own. I do not believe that genuine constitutional monarchy is possible unless the succession is completely algorithmic. Any leeway for a monarch or family conclave to choose the successor makes the position a political one and therefore incapable of being above politics as a constitutional monarch needs to be.
:
: It's my impression that the current king
: lacks something of his father's charm and
: charisma. He is very much a military-minded
: man who tends to think in immediate,
: no-nonsense solutions without always taking
: the time to be as diplomatic and tactful
: about it as his father was. With King
: Abdullah, what you see is what you get and
: his bluntness doesn't always play too well
: with tribal leaders and Palestinian
: intellectuals who like to be flattered and
: seduced in the way that King Hussein would
: probably have engaged them. It's a little
This may also have to do with the fact that he is not only a military man, but seems to be culturally as well as linguistically more attuned to the ways of his mother's homeland than his own.
: ironic that he and his wife take so much
: flak from critics because their married and
: home life seems to be exemplary compared to
: that of his predecessors. It is notable that
: the present king of Jordan is the only one
: so far to have remained steadfastly loyal to
: one wife which cannot be said for most of
: the rest of his family including his
: brothers and sisters. In his domestic
: set-up, the current king is certainly not a
: typical Hashemite and that may also be one
: of the things that gets up certain people's
: noses.
Was King Talal known to be unfaithful to his queen? In any event, you may be right that this makes the present King seem strange to some of his compatriots, but I really have no idea. Unlike in Britain, I've never heard anything about Arab monarchs being expected to exemplify any sort of ideal of family life.
: This is true. The only reason the regime has
: lasted this long is that the US and Israel
: feel a vital interest in preventing it from
: being taken over by Islamists or collapsing
: like Iraq and Syria. Canny western
: diplomats, however, must surely recognize
: that liberalization of Jordan is the only
: long-term (or perhaps even medium-term) way
: to ensure that.
:
: I disagree. I think the West continues to
: take a keen interest in Jordan and its
: affairs and has a vested interest in
: ensuring that the regime in control there
: remains stable and pro-Western. At this
: juncture, the most likely replacement for
: the Hashemites would be a fundamentalist
: Islamic regime and that would be in nobody's
: interests.
True, but that's what I mean. In the long term, I don't see how the long term stability of the regime can be assured unless there is a move to some of form of liberal, parliamentary democracy. The problem is, how to get there without jumping the gun as in Egypt, etc., and ending up with Hamas or the Muslim Brotherhood, etc., in control before strong liberal institutions have been established.
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