ABSTRACT
This case study describes Jordan’s remarkable success in transforming the weakest Arab state into a nation. A strong sense of Jordanian nationalism has developed despite the competing claims of Arab nationalism and Palestinian nationalism. During the colonial period, Britain subsidized state building in what became Jordan, put the Hashemites on the throne, and helped form an effective police force that remained loyal to the postindependence government. The Hashemites have survived despite being surrounded by unstable, interventionist, and more powerful neighbors. They have done so through astute leadership, the cultivation of a Jordanian national identity, and the reliance on at least one powerful ally. They have used this ally to counterbalance their neighbors and to provide infusions of economic aid to help compensate for a very poor resource endowment. Thus, they have survived by transforming Jordan into a rentier state dependent on strategic rents from the outside. The Hashemites provide a lesson on what astute leadership can achieve in a very unpromising national security and economic environment.
