Why stability in Jordan matters
Jordan King Abdullah II
The Arab world is not alien to the Game of Thrones, sometimes it ends quickly like a T20 cricket match but at times it stretches and takes the form of Test cricket with the last played in the house of Saud.
Saudi crown prince Mohammad bin Salman had arrested the former head of army intelligence Prince Nayef bin Ahmed. He had also arrested the younger brother of King Salman-- Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz to reportedly quash a potential coup.
In 2017, princes, ministers and businessmen were arrested and the Ritz Carlton in Riyadh was converted into a fancy prison - fast forward to April 2021 and a game of thrones is underway in the house of Hashim.
Jordan's former crown prince Humzah bin Hussein is under house arrest. He has been accused of targeting the country's security and stability. Jordan's allies like the United States have come out in support of his arrest with statements issued in support of Jordan's King Abdullah II.
The statements have also come from Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Lebanon, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Yemen, Palestine and the United Arab Emirates, also the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League.
Arab countries like Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have oil money, however, Jordan does not have any but it has stability. It has a history of building bridges and it is a precious skill in the region and is celebrated internationally.
Jordan is considered a stable partner by many countries with the United States being one of them. The US has given Jordan access to military equipment and aid and American forces regularly train with Jordanians.
The kingdom is home to 3,000 American troops. Jordan is also home to more than 2 million registered Palestinian refugees. Like India, Jordan has been able to find the delicate balance of maintaining ties with both Israel and Palestine instead of pitting one against another.
Jordan was one of the first Arab countries to sign a peace deal with Israel as early as 1994. Now other Arab countries have joined hands with Israel and aligning together against Iran.
It is said that it is not about the Sunni-Shia divide but about security and stability, the Arabs say and they use the same words in the context of Jordan- security and stability.
Every statement issued by the Arab world says the same, like a chorus. It shows how critical Jordan is to regional stability which is the main reason, the second reason is religion.
Jordan is the custodian of holy sites in Jerusalem including the al Aqsa mosque. It is the third holiest site in Islam and also controls Christian and Jewish sites.
The other reason is Jordan is strategically important. It has withstood the impact of a 10-year-long Syrian civil war in its north. It was also a key player in defeating ISIS.
Today, Jordan hosts 600,000 Syrian refugees and 2 million Palestinian refugees live in the country. It also has a presence of the Muslim brotherhood. Unrest in the country could translate into chaos on its borders and could put the entire Arab region at risk.
While palace intrigues and power plays between rival princes is common in the Gulf region - in Jordan, it's rare. The country has a reputation for stability and making peace. Jordan was the first Arab state to reestablish diplomatic ties with Egypt back in 1984.
The Gulf region is in a delicate phase. There is a new oil order brought about by the pandemic, evolving geopolitics driven by a peace deal, a common enemy and a new American leadership that's vetting the West Asia policy of the old regime.