King Abdullah II of Jordan: Modern Monarch and Would-Be Peacemaker?

Our Last Best Chance: The Pursuit of Peace in a Time of Peril
King Abdullah II of Jordan
368 pp. Viking Adult. $27.95.
 
In his memoir, Our Last Best Chance, King Abdullah II of Jordan tells a story that is at once personal and political. His powerful message on the centrality of the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to future peace and stability provides an intimate look at the contested and conflict-ridden history of the modern Middle East. After generations of gridlock, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may seem to have become an unstable and wholly inadequate status quo. There may be few, if any, more chances for peace. However, recent political and diplomatic initiatives, including talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators hosted by Jordan, suggest that a future peace remains viable. Such appeals–made through not only traditional diplomatic channels but also international authority–provide new potential for resolution. After the Arab Spring, the shifting political dynamics of the region have challenged the current order and exert new pressures for change. As such, this balanced and thoughtful perspective is both timely and compelling.
Named heir unexpectedly and immediately before his father’s death, Abdullah had the chance to grow up out of the spotlight while still near the center of history. He was exposed to some of the more colorful events and characters of his time, including such famous—and infamous—world leaders (including Saddam Hussein and Gadhafi) in both personal and political contexts. Educated in the U.S. through middle school and high school, attending Eaglebrook School and Deerfield Academy, he writes with fondness of how he appreciated the opportunity to be an ordinary student among his peers. Following family tradition at his father’s urging, Abdullah subsequently pursued a military career and attended Sandhurst in England as part of the infantry. This initial exposure to advanced military techniques and technology later served him well as he rose to the rank of Major General of Jordan’s armed forces. Indeed, Abdullah came to command the Jordanian Special Forces and was involved in several high-profile counter-terrorism operations.
With his unique background and perspective, King Abdullah II provides a compelling view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a centerpiece of the book. From the beginning, he seeks to frame his personal story within the larger context of regional conflict, which he describes as a constant in his life since childhood. One of his earliest childhood memories is his first experience of war. In the 1967 war, Israeli jets flew overhead to attack Palestinian guerrillas in Jordan only miles from his home. When his father came upon a young girl who had been injured in the bombing and watched her die in his arms, Abdullah vividly remembers seeing his pain. The human costs of this conflict and the extensive involvement of his own family–the Hashemite monarchy, descended from the Prophet Muhammad–through history remain prominent themes in the book. His great-grandfather, King Abdullah I was assassinated by a Palestinian gunman. King Abdullah II’s own father, King Hussein, came to be renowned as a statesman and negotiator, who, even from his deathbed, continued to urge U.S. and Israeli politicians to overcome their differences in the 1999 talks.
From the beginning, King Abdullah II seeks to frame the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as not a religious but a political conflict over basic human and land rights that underlies the bulk of the Middle East’s current troubles. He faults leaders on both sides for intransigence and short-sightedness, emphasizing that “Israel’s “delays, reversals, and stalling tactics have come at a price.” Seeking to build upon his father’s legacy, King Abdullah II highlights the importance of maintaining engagement and dialogue even with difficult or dangerous players on this complex geopolitical chessborad. Jordan, one of two nations in the Middle East to have signed a peace treaty with Israel, has traditionally occupied an uneasy position as a middle ground within the Arab world. Sharing jurisdiction with Israel over religious sites in East Jerusalem, coping with a massive influx of Palestinian refugees (now 1.9 million, nearly half of Jordan’s population), and maintaining close and amicable diplomatic relations in a difficult neighborhood are only among a few of the challenges confronting the Hashemite monarchy in Jordan, both historically and to this day.
Admitting that, when he first begun writing this memoir, he had hoped that it would culminate with triumph of peace against the odds, King Abdullah warns that if the international community fails to take advantage of what he sees as “now almost unanimous international consensus” there will inevitably be another devastating war in the region. Without resolution, radical organizations have been able to manipulate the issue to draw support, and peace now seems more elusive than ever. He urges immediate focus on the four most central, challenging issues—Jerusalem, refugees, borders, and security—rather than efforts to build consensus on secondary concerns. Although these are the very topics that have consistently been sources of division, he seems surprisingly optimistic as to the potential of sustained and serious dialogue and negotiation. In this regard, he promotes his father’s proposal, which would have provided Israel peace with all Arab countries in return for fully relinquishing occupied territory. King Abdullah himself has revived this model, and, as introduced by Saudi Arabia, it was adopted as the Arab Peace Initiative in 2002.
Looking back upon the ten years of his reign thus far, King Abdullah seems to present himself as a modern monarch seeking to modernize Jordan in the face of entrenched elite interests and resistance to changes in the status quo. Beyond the peace process, King Abdullah has made economic reform a priority, as by seeking a free trade agreement with the United States and developing a nuclear energy program. However, politically, he describes the process as “two steps forward and one step back” and unfavorably compares the administration of a country to leadership of a military unit for the inefficiency and lack of coordination within a system at times characterized by “bickering” and a “dysfunctional relationship” within the government. His military perspective on governance has driven him to seek in Jordan’s political institutions the efficiency that he prized as a commander in its army, and he has, at times, exerted a dominant position over the government.
Despite the narrative that he here presents of himself as a benevolent and well-loved monarch, King Abdullah has faced unprecedented challenges to his power and authority since the release of Our Last Best Chance. A year after the Arab Spring, the traditional balance of power within the region as a whole has been irrevocably altered by the overthrow of traditional autocratic rule and the emergence of fledgling democratic regimes. Although Jordan, like many of its fellow monarchies, has remained relatively stable in the face of the regional instability and upheaval of the Arab Spring, ongoing unrest first broke out in riots this spring.
The economic and demographic forces common across the Arab world will continue to exert pressure for reform. In Jordan’s constitutional monarchy, the King himself retains almost unchecked authority, and the legitimacy of elected institutions remains insecure. The Parliament, often accused of corruption and cronyism, lacks full popular support and remains dependent upon monarchal prerogatives. The King retains the power to dismiss the prime minister and call for elections, which he has done nine times since coming to power in 1999. The current Prime Minister, Awn Khasawneh, formerly a judge at the International Court of Justice, is known as a progressive, and hopes are high that further reforms will be undertaken.
Looking to the future, Jordan is likely to continue to grapple with this paradox of monarchy and modernity, yet King Abdullah’s willingness to embrace the outside world and awareness of the emerging dynamics shaping the region suggest that Jordan will successfully continue to reconcile the challenges of its political, geographic, and strategic position. In his own words: “in Jordan, we’re going from Arab Spring to Arab summer, which means we’re rolling up our sleeves and doing the hard work of reform.” Nonetheless, it still remains to be seen whether an “Arab summer” will indeed take hold in Jordan.
With regard to the peace process, however, the future is far more uncertain. Today, as so many politicians continue to value short-term interests, King Abdullah calls for compromise and sacrifice. Such measures, however, such as a freeze in the construction of illegal Israeli settlements, have long been sought in vain. Nonetheless, in a January interview with the Washington Post, he stated: “I am cautious about saying that I’m cautiously optimistic.” Perhaps more realistically, he also said, “For them to at least try to talk to each other is better than nothing.”  Frustrated with ongoing gridlock, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) has increasingly turned instead to the United Nations and international diplomacy as a means of exerting pressure upon Israel. 2012, according to a PLO commander, will mark the intensification of such efforts in an attempt to create a more comprehensive campaign modeled on that employed against apartheid South Africa. Yet, ultimately, within the neighborhood, King Abdullah concludes, “We have no choice but to live together. Both sides have a moral responsibility to strive for peace.”