Introduction

This book is a study of the relationship between culture and political legitimacy. Based on an analysis of issues of gender and law in the political system of Jordan, I argue that legitimacy, a crucial component of successful democratic systems, is significantly dependent upon cultural factors that affect the political system. This does not mean that a particular cultural basis is necessary for a political system to be legitimate but, rather, that the politicization of elements of culture contributes to the ability of the regime and other political actors to claim sociocultural legitimacy. Several factors contribute to legitimacy (see below), but the sociocultural strand of legitimation is the most fundamental, a sine qua non for state legitimation. States and particular regimes may gain or lose support on the basis of their functional administrative competence, but the issue of substantive sociocultural legitimacy is fundamental to the state’s stability and, in the end, to the prospects for the development of democratic characteristics such as free contestation, equal rights and social tolerance.