ABSTRACT
The Ottoman Empire ruled the area that includes Jordan from the middle of the sixteenth century to the end of World War I, when the dissolution of that empire turned most of what had been Ottoman Palestine to the British. Jordan's domestic troubles continued, linked both to Jordan's foreign relations and to the fragile nature of the Jordanian political system. King Hussein suffered from lymphatic cancer and had to leave Jordan in 1998 for treatment in the United States. Political participation in Jordan is constrained despite the liberalization effort that started in 1989. In Jordan, the various ministries regulate the activities included in civil societies. The Ministry of Social Development licenses all charitable organizations, and the Ministry of the Interior regulates political parties, labor unions, and professional associations. Jordan has no exploitable oil reserves, and the only natural resource is phosphorus. Jordan's location shapes its foreign policy and security concerns.
