The Deep Play: Ethnicity, the Hashemite Monarchy and the Arab Spring in Jordan

Despite the escalation of protests that led many demonstrators to demand the abdication of King Abdullah II and the end of Hashemite governance in the winter of 2013, the Arab Spring in Jordan has not produced the same political upheaval seen elsewhere in the Middle East. Commentators and scholars reason that this is due to the Jordanian security forces’ deftness at curbing the revolts; particularly in preventing the sustenance of cross-cutting societal alliances capable of maintaining sustained protests as seen elsewhere in the Arab world (Abu-Rish 2012).