Review
"This is a powerful and important book that tackles controversial issues with a combination of facts and analysis that is refreshing for modern Jordanian and Arab scholarship. It should be read widely in Jordan; more importantly, the issues it raises must be discussed in a responsible and public manner, so that we can get on with our proven capacity to build a descent, equitable, and impressive country, and leave behind the provincialism and petty fears that seem to define many people in Jordan today. Those who have not had the pleasure of knowing Adnan Abu Odeh will realize from this book why he has been asked to advise the kings of Jordan for so many years." --
Jordan TimesPublished just after the death of Jordans King Hussein, this well-researched book describes how the late King in his lifetime worked out most of the state-to-state crises in Jordans regional relationships and why he could not pass on to his heir, now King Abdullah, a full resolution of the rivalry and tension between the nationalisms of Jordanians and Palestinians. --
Richard W. Murphy Hasib J. Sabbagh Senior Fellow for Middle East Council on Foreign Relations
Product Description
Adnan Abu-Odehs book, Jordanians, Palestinians, and the Hashemite Kingdom in the Middle East Peace Process, is the first book-length study of the Transjordanian-Palestinian dynamic in Jordan and the development of a Transjordanian nationalism. Transjordanian nationalism defines the Palestinian-Jordanians as the "Other" in the construction of a separate national identity for the population of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The origins of that nationalism go back to the establishment of Transjordan as a separate political entity in 1921. It was attenuated, first, by Emir/King Abdullahs pan-Arab outlook and later by the integration of the West Bank into a United Kingdom of Jordan. It was intensified however, by the PLOs challenge to the Jordanian establishment (1967-70) and by the violent clashes in 1970 followed by the expulsion of the PLO from Jordan. Transjordanian nationalism has become a significant political force with the signing of the Oslo agreement in 1993 and of the Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty in 1994. As the Israeli-Palestinian peace process moves toward the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, the status and identity of the Palestinian minority in Israel and of the Palestinian half (or more) of the Jordanian population will increasingly demand our attention. Adnan Abu-Odehs timely book is an informed and informative contribution to the new thinking that the current political changes now require.
Abu-Odeh traces the evolution of Transjordanian nationalism over the course of the present century. He explores some of the contradictions in government policy, which indirectly promoted Transjordanian nationalism, even though it has been committed to transcendent Jordanian identity that includes both Transjordanians and Palestinians. He analyzes the varieties of Transjordanian nationalism, providing rich portraits of their social and intellectual roots. He places Transjordanaian nationalism historically in the context of the changing and evolving triangular relationship between Transjordanians, Palestinians, and Israelis. Throughout the book, he draws the readers attention to the experiences and vulnerabilities of the Palestinian-Jordanian population as it confronts Transjordanian nationalismproblems that could easily be intensified with the changing political map in the region. Yet he concludes with a hopeful but realistic vision, which foresees a pluralistic Jordan, based on a Jordanian identity shared by Transjordanians and Palestinian-Jordanians, in the contest of an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement that similarly reflects the principle of sharing.
Adnan Abu-Odeh writes from the unique perspective of a Palestinian-Jordanian, born in Nablus, who has occupied many high positions in the Jordanian government over the decades and who was an active participant in many of the events that he describes. He brings to this work his exceptional skills of subtle observation and insightful analysis, on which students of Jordanian politics and society have come to rely for many years.Herbert Kelman, Harvard University
