Conclusion: The Field and Process of Minoritisation in Jordan

Abstract

Among the originating sparks for this book is the empirical observation that, on the basis of different rationales and concerns, Jordanians often refuse to speak about their country’s diversity in terms of national and political minorities. Jordanians’ avoidance of this concept and its removal from the public dialogue has found resonance in the Hashemites’ identity self- and national narrative as much as in the Jordanian constitution, the country’s official census (that continues to avoid documenting the populations according to ethnicity and religion) and the state’s legal norms pertaining to Jordanians’ rights and duties. The same could be said when looking at how each of the various demographic, political, religious or ethnic minority group examined in this volume describe the relationship that they entertain with the Jordanian fabric and seek their place in the country’s history. Yet, as this book suggests, there is a need for studies of Jordan to acknowledge the importance of minority status and of minoritisation in the broadest sense. In particular, this is due to the dynamics and mechanics of Hashemite rulership over a recently produced nation state, and the fluidity of the ruling class’ identity narratives during the interwar Mandate, Cold War and twenty-first-century eras. Minoritisation is an integral part of the continuous effort of both the Hashemite governmental elites and the tapestry of Jordanian societal groups to define, reconfigure, negotiate and contest the spheres and boundaries of what Jordan and its sociopolitical fabric is to be.